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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin 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 “plugin columns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Manage User Columns shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 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

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 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 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Equal Height Columns 10K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #10 11 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #21 ↓6 8 too low 14 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too low 15 WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #23 ↓5 5 too low 19 Plugin Report 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Multiple Columns for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Block Editor: Reverse Columns on Mobile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Dashboard Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 12 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.