Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dashboard 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 “dashboard columns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Manage User Columns shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 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

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2354 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #3 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #24 ↓4 11 too low 14 Dashboard Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too high 18 WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↓1 13 too high 19 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 21 Analytics Insights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #21 ↓3 22 Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 S Simple Menu Order Column 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 Dashboard for Pressbooks and H5P 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.