Yes, Column Order Matters
August 12, 2025
I tend to be pretty particular about programming. I nitpick things others might overlook, overanalyze variable names, and refine endlessly — until I either feel the code is as streamlined as possible or realize I’m stuck in a refinement loop and force myself to stop. (Spoiler: the latter usually wins.)
One hill I will die on however is that the order of your columns matters. One thing that is guaranteed to drive me batty when I am trying to traverse a table is columns that are just scattered.
Take a look at these two example Orders tables. Which one is easier to read and interpret?
| id | total | user_id | status | created_at | updated_at | qty | tracking_number | order_date | is_gift | shipped_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89.99 | 30 | processing | 2025-08-01 10:15:00 | 2025-08-05 16:40:00 | 5 | 391066808797 | 2025-08-01 | false | 2025-08-03 09:30:00 |
| id | user_id | qty | total | status | is_gift | tracking_number | shipped_at | order_date | created_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | 5 | 89.99 | processing | false | 391066808797 | 2025-08-03 09:30:00 | 2025-08-01 | 2025-08-01 10:15:00 | 2025-08-05 16:40:00 |
In the first table, related columns like total and qty are far apart, forcing your eyes to jump around. In the second, related data is grouped together, making it much easier to scan. Take this example to perhaps a more real world example with way more columns. Now, if you're using some database GUI like TablePlus, you're now needing to physically scroll horizontally to view related data.
When designing a new table or modifying an existing one, I group columns into logical blocks, for example:
- Relationships (e.g., foreign key constraints)
- Billing and contact info
- Financial data (like
total,shipping_cost,tax) - System or lifecycle flags (such as
is_gift,locked,inactive) - Dates and timestamps
- Audit or tracking info (like
created_by,edited_by)
The order of these blocks matters too. Core data should come first, with secondary or metadata fields toward the end. Of course, not every column fits perfectly into one block, but the goal is to avoid forcing developers to do mental gymnastics hunting for related info.
Of course, databases evolve — new columns get added over time. It’s important to maintain this organization as your schema grows. This isn’t just cosmetic: logical column order helps you and your team understand and navigate data faster. Grouping related columns (like identifiers, core data, financials, statuses, dates, and audit fields) reduces cognitive load and makes your schema more intuitive. This boosts productivity in GUIs and query builders, and makes migrations easier to maintain and less error-prone. Disorganized columns, on the other hand, slow development by forcing you to hunt for information and increasing the chance of mistakes.
So just like clean code matters, clean column order matters too — a small step with big payoff in clarity and efficiency.