wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp 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 “wp columns”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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
WPC Admin Columns shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 3 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #4 ↑6 5 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #5 6 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966)
wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #9 ↓2 10 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #17 7 too low 11 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑9 3 too high 12 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Equal Height Columns 10K+ · 4.9★ (41)
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 
WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178)
wp.org #18 ↓9 2 too low 17 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Admin Columns for ACF Fields 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 
WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 WPC Admin Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑2 16 too high 23 
Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 
Dashboard Columns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.