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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “table reservations”

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 “table reservations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Flavor – Restaurant Menu & Table Reservations shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking Calendar places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 657 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #1 2 WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Alex Reservations – Restaurant Reservations, Tables & White-Label Booking System 200+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #3 4 VikRestaurants Table Reservations and Take-Away 600+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 ReDi Restaurant Reservation – Instant Restaurant Booking & Table Reservation System 800+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Bus Ticket Booking with Seat Reservation 700+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 Restaurant Menu – Food Ordering System – Table Reservation 7K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #5 ↑13 7 too high 13 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Rox Appointment Booking – Event, Calendar & Appointment Scheduling 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Court Reservation – Tennis, Padel & Sports Court Booking 90+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 FoodOrd – Online Food Ordering & Table Reservation System 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑4 3 too high 19 Mobile-Refuel Table Reservation 10+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Flavor – Restaurant Menu & Table Reservations 90+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 DineKit – Restaurant Menu, Online Ordering, Table Reservations & POS 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 too high 22 Host Domination Booking Engine: Calendar Sync & Reservation System 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 WPC Product Table for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 GemBooking – Appointment Booking, Booking Calendar & Reservations 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓5 5 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.