wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress 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 “wordpress columns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #1 2

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 4

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5

Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #5 6

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7

Equal Height Columns 10K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #8 ↓3 1 too low 8

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #18 ↓4 9 too low 10

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #15 ↓5 5 too low 11

FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #14 ↑4 3 too low 12

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too low 14

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15

Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #7 8 too high 16

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #19 ↓6 3 too low 17

WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #4 13 too high 18

Admin Slug Column 5K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #24 ↓4 6 too low 19

Multiple Columns for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓5 1 too low 20

Block Editor: Reverse Columns on Mobile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓6 3 too high 21 N Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns 500+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓6 1 too low 22

Make Section & Column Clickable For Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓6 1 too low 23

Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓3 14 too high 24

Dashboard Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓3 13 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.