Restore Columns
by Flector · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 15 other plugins · 31.5K+ installs across the portfolio →
The plugin restores the possibility to select the number of columns displayed on the dashboard.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
60+
≈65 estimated
Momentum
+20%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “dashboard” and “dashboard columns” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
46 health vs 56 average across 5,897 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 60 of 3.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,189 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 2404 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2404 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| dashboard your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| dashboard columns your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| screen layout your tag | Not checked yet | ||
| screen options your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin”, “dashboard” and “dashboard columns” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 87 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #19,100 to #20,000, alongside the other plugins at 60+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
8.1y ago
latest release · v1.00 · 11 Sep 2018
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “60+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 7 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 5 Jun 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ LynnW7.2y ago
This allows one to expand the dashboard width wider, and it holds 1 column. But past a certain width, it switches to 2 or 3 columns again. It’s better than the WP default, especially when looking at website stats, where one would like the maps and graphs to show as large as possible. I had another plugin that still worked but hadn’t been updated in about 4 yrs, so needed to replace it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cpataxnet11.4y ago
didn’t want to spend the time finding what to add to the functions.php file. This did the trick in 60 seconds. Thanks for a helpful plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ blue mountains web design11.7y ago
Great plugin to get the choice back of how many admin dashboard columns show and they stay responsive, nice. Thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Flector11.9y ago
cool 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
1 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "The plugin restores the possibility to select the number of columns displayed on the dashboard."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 782 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("admin", "dashboard columns", "screen layout" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-27 70+ → 60+ down after 272 days in tier
- 2025-06-28 80+ → 70+ down after 19 days in tier
- 2025-06-09 90+ → 80+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-06-07 80+ → 90+ up after 51 days in tier
- 2025-04-17 70+ → 80+ up after 87 days in tier
- 2025-01-20 80+ → 70+ down after 30 days in tier
- 2024-12-21 90+ → 80+ down after 93 days in tier
- 2024-09-19 100+ → 90+ down after 51 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Dashboard Columns 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
White Label CMS 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Display PHP Version 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D -
Widget Disable 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Erident Custom Login and Dashboard 7K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Restore Columns into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/restore-columns" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Restore Columns — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Restore Columns: 60+ active installs, 4.8★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/restore-columns
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