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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “seat map”

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 “seat map”, 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Bus Ticket Booking with Seat Reservation 700+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #1 2 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 SeatReg 300+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Events Made Easy 1K+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Event Monster – Event Manager, Event Booking, Event Ticket & Registration 600+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Live Event Seating Lite – Seating Chart, Floor Plan, RSVP & Event Ticket 30+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Tourfic – AI Powered Travel Booking, Hotel Booking & Car Rental 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Venuera – Event Tickets for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Eventnetic – Event Tickets, Booking and Calendar 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Schedopia – Appointment Booking, Events & Seat Reservations — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Cinema Seat Reservation For WooCommerce 10+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.