wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “column clickable”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “column clickable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Addon Elementor Container Link shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too low 7

Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 ↓1 5 too high 8

Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #9 ↑4 1 too low 9

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) heavy footprint wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10

Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #15 ↑7 4 too low 12

Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #14 ↓4 2 too low 13

CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14

WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178) wp.org #13 ↓5 1 too high 15

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Addon Elementor Container Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑8 13 too high 17

PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #21 ↓4 4 too low 18

Tableberg – Simple Gutenberg Table Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19

Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 3 too high 20

Tiered Pricing Table for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (104) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too high 21

Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #24 3 too low 22

CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #17 5 too high 23

SysBasics Customize My Account for WooCommerce – Live My Account Customizer 7K+ · 4.2★ (33) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24

Document Library Lite 4K+ · 4.1★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.