Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 layout”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 WP Blog Post Layouts 9K+ · 4.7★ (83) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #15 ↑3 6 too low 10 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #10 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #13 ↑9 2 too low 12 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #19 ↓8 7 too low 13 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 Multiple Columns for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #23 ↓8 8 too low 16 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too high 17 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Product Layouts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓11 5 too low 20 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21 Post Layouts 900+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 Dashboard Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Advanced Columns Block: Layout builder 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.