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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “theater”

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 “theater”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 3 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

Events Calendar by FooEvents shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Theater for WordPress 600+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 SeatReg 300+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #3 4 Foyer – Digital Signage for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #4 5 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #5 6 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #7 8 Live Event Seating Lite – Seating Chart, Floor Plan, RSVP & Event Ticket 40+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #8 9 bSlider – Build Sliders That Bring Your Content to Life 5K+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 11 MaxtDesign Cookie Consent – Google Consent Mode v2 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Jeero 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Easy Map – Store Locator, OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Mapbox 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Floorplans – Lite 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 ScoreFix – Boost Lighthouse & Improve UX — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Hello Hollywood 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 SeatKit 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Hello HAL 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 TicketPayGo Lite — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Sammy SMTP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 MieBadge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 GreenRoom — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Aegistha Security Checkup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Events Calendar by FooEvents 4K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 10 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.