wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom columns”
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 “custom columns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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
Manage User Columns shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 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.
Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #4 ↓2 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #7 ↑7 1 too low 7 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #12 ↓4 5 too low 8 
Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #8 9 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474)
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #16 ↓6 6 too low 11 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #11 ↑6 12 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #18 ↓7 4 too low 15 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #22 ↓3 7 too low 16 
Equal Height Columns 10K+ · 4.9★ (41)
wp.org #13 ↓4 3 too high 17 
Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓4 7 too high 18 
Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too low 19 
WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 
Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 
Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 14 too high 24 
Slug Search and Admin Columns 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.