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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multicolumn”

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 “multicolumn”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 19. 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

Accordion FAQ shows at wp.org #11 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Portfolio, Gallery, Product Catalog – Grid KIT Portfolio places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 300 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Multiple Columns for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #5 6 Multicolumn Category Widget 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Portfolio, Gallery, Product Catalog – Grid KIT Portfolio 6K+ · 4.4★ (300) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Live Composer – Free WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.4★ (212) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 CF7 Views – Complete Entry Management for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Ninja Forms Views – Display & Edit Ninja Forms Submissions on your site frontend 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 T Trackserver 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Yoo Slider – Image Slider & Video Slider 500+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Link View 700+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #14 15 NM Contact Forms 200+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Accordion FAQ 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Calio Addon for Elementor – Widgets, Slider & Extensions — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 C Chords and Lyrics 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 WP Faq Builder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 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.