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Column Shortcodes

By Tobias Schutter

Design & Themes / Themes & Templates

Column Shortcodes Review - In-Depth Analysis

Easily create columns in your posts or pages using shortcodes. Customize padding and select from various column widths.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.53/10

User Rating

4.8/5 (based on 134+ reviews)

Active Installations

60,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin adds shortcodes to easily create columns in your posts or pages.

Sometimes you just need to divide your page into different columns. With this plugin, you simply select a column shortcode, and it will add the column to the page. You can also change the padding of each individual column from the user interface.

There are 10 different column widths available from which you can make all combinations, including full width (1/1), half (1/2), one third (1/3), two third (2/3), one fourth (1/4), three fourth (3/4), one fifth (1/5), two fifth (2/5), three fifth (3/5), four fifth (4/5), one sixth (1/6), and five sixth (5/6).

A preset stylesheet is included, which you can also overwrite to your liking in your theme's stylesheet.

Comparing to Alternatives

Column Shortcodes offers a straightforward way to add column layouts via shortcodes, standing out for its simplicity compared to other shortcode plugins.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Very simple and easy to use.
Reliable for basic column layouts.
Lightweight with minimal setup.
Consistently stable over time.

Weaknesses

Lacks advanced layout features like vertical alignment.
No customization options for styling columns.
No active development of new features.

User Sentiment Analysis

Users appreciate the plugin's simplicity and reliability, though some note limitations in functionality.

Positive highlights

Simple plugin, but does what it's supposed to. Recommended over all the wysiwyg solutions. - pslom
I've been using this plugin for ages now. I'm so glad it exists! - my3seadogs
Easy to use, best result, perfect! - mvkwebmaster
Simple and easy to use, that is the reason I like it. - maruska
Perfect plugin! Thanks a lot. - Viktor Jenerál

Common complaints

Cannot align content vertically within columns.
Limited feature set compared to other shortcode plugins.

Weaknesses

No plans to add requested features like vertical alignment.
Basic functionality may not meet all user needs.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who need a simple, no-frills way to add column layouts via shortcodes without complex features.

Not ideal for

Those requiring advanced layout controls, customization, or ongoing feature updates should consider other plugins.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version provides basic column shortcode functionality sufficient for simple layout needs.

Final Verdict

Column Shortcodes is a dependable plugin for users seeking straightforward column layouts without extra complexity.

While it lacks advanced features and customization, its simplicity and reliability make it a solid choice for basic needs.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Column Shortcodes plugin.

Column

Columns

Shortcode

Shortcodes

Screenshots

FAQ

Standard
The easiest way is to use the added icon on the top of your editor ( right next to the media icon ). This will open a popup window from which you can select a column icon by clicking on one of the shortcodes.

Manual
You could also type in the shortcode yourself inside the editor. The following shortcodes are available:

[full_width][/full_width] [one_half][/one_half] [one_half_last][/one_half_last] [one_third][/one_third] [one_third_last][/one_third_last] [two_third][/two_third] [two_third_last][/two_third_last] [one_fourth][/one_fourth] [one_fourth_last][/one_fourth_last] [three_fourth][/three_fourth] [three_fourth_last][/three_fourth_last] [one_fifth][/one_fifth] [one_fifth_last][/one_fifth_last] [two_fifth][/two_fifth] [two_fifth_last][/two_fifth_last] [three_fifth][/three_fifth] [three_fifth_last][/three_fifth_last] [four_fifth][/four_fifth] [four_fifth_last][/four_fifth_last] [one_sixth][/one_sixth] [one_sixth_last][/one_sixth_last] [five_sixth][/five_sixth] [five_sixth_last][/five_sixth_last]

Another option
Another way to add shortcodes is to switch to HTML-view. On the top of editor you will now see all the shortcodes listed.
By default these buttons are hidden. If you’d like to use them you can add this to your theme’s functions.php:

add_filter('add_shortcode_html_buttons', '__return_true' );

When you have selected a shorcode it will be placed in you editor. You will see something like this:

[one_half][/one_half]

Make sure to place your content (text/images etc. ) between the two shortcodes, like so:

[one_half]My content goes here...[/one_half]

You can prefix the shortcode by placing the following in your functions.php. Problem solved =)

add_filter( 'cpsh_prefix', 'set_shortcode_prefix' ); function set_shortcode_prefix() {     return 'myprefix_'; // edit this part if needed }

In patch 0.6 we added padding settings (optional) to the plugin. If you would like to hide this settings menu you can place the following in your functions.php

add_filter( 'cpsh_hide_padding_settings', '__return_true' );

If you would like to hide certain column from the menu; place the following in your functions.php

function hide_column_shortcodes( $shortcodes ) {      /* uncomment ( remove the '//' ) any of the following to remove it's shortcode from menu */      // unset( $shortcodes['full_width'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['one_half'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['one_third'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['one_fourth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['two_third'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['three_fourth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['one_fifth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['two_fifth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['three_fifth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['four_fifth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['one_sixth'] );     // unset( $shortcodes['five_sixth'] );      return $shortcodes; } add_filter( 'cpsh_column_shortcodes', 'hide_column_shortcodes' );

You can easily overwrite the existing stylesheet. For example you would like to add a margin between your columns, you just place the following in your theme’s style.css:

.one_half {     width: 49% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .one_half.last_column {     width: 49% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .one_third {     width: 32% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .one_third.last_column {     width: 32% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .two_third {     width: 66% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .two_third.last_column {     width: 66% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .one_fourth {     width: 23.5% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .one_fourth.last_column {     width: 23.5% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .three_fourth {     width: 74.5% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .three_fourth.last_column {     width: 74.5% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .one_fifth {     width: 18.4% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .one_fifth.last_column {     width: 18.4% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .two_fifth {     width: 39% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .two_fifth.last_column {     width: 39% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .three_fifth {     width: 59% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .three_fifth.last_column {     width: 59% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .four_fifth {     width: 79.6% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .four_fifth.last_column {     width: 79.6% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; } .one_sixth {     width: 15% !important;     margin-right: 2% !important; } .one_sixth.last_column {     width: 15% !important;     margin-right: 0px !important; }

If you would like to prevent the loading of the column styling on the frontend; place the following in your functions.php

add_filter( 'cpsh_load_styles', '__return_false' );

Contributors and developers

“Column Shortcodes” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Tobias Schutter

Codepress

David Mosterd

Stefan van den Dungen Gronovius

Free Version Docs

WPS

6.53

Average

Ratings

4.8 out of 5 | 134

Version

1.0.1

Last updated

3 years ago

Active installations

60,000+

WordPress version

6.0.12 or higher

PHP version

or higher

Languages

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Column Shortcodes Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (134)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (0)

WPS

6.53

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