Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “seating chart”

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 “seating chart”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Ticket Spot – Event Tickets, RSVPs & Calendar shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget places #4 on merit, 4.5★ from 103 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Live Event Seating Lite – Seating Chart, Floor Plan, RSVP & Event Ticket 40+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 MapSVG – Vector maps, Image maps, Google Maps 1K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #3 4 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #5 6 Ticket Tailor — Event Ticketing & Registration 4K+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 PicPoints – Interactive Image Map & Hotspot Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Ticketor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 SeatLayer Seating Charts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 BookWellNow – Appointment Booking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Evenzo – Event Tickets, Calendar and Check-in for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Tempo Book It Box Office — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 LimaBook Restaurant & Cafe Reservations — WordPress Booking Plugin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Seat & Table Booking for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 SeatHive Event Ticketing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Carbonara Online Reservation 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Ticket Spot – Event Tickets, RSVPs & Calendar 40+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Car Rental Manager – Online Vehicle Booking System 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 20 T TicketTool 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 21 W wp-seatingchart 10+ · 1.5★ (2) wp.org #21

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.