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

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

TicketSource Ticket Shop shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 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 #1 2 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Booking Activities 3K+ · 5.0★ (121) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Theater for WordPress 600+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Store Locator for WordPress📍 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Venuera – Event Tickets for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Showpass WordPress Extension 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 GemBooking – Appointment Booking, Booking Calendar & Reservations 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 GreenRoom — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Heelyo Tickets – Event Ticketing for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Seat & Table Booking for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Schedopia – Appointment Booking, Events & Seat Reservations — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Tempo Book It Box Office — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 SeatLayer Seating Charts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Circular Arts Network — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Smooth Entree — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Ticket Spot – Event Tickets, RSVPs & Calendar 40+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Events Calendar, Tickets & Registration with QR Check-in — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Everybooking – Instant Quote & Booking for Rentals, Venues & Service Businesses — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 COOKR – Cookie Consent & Script Blocking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Guard Forge – Security, Login Protection, 2FA & Audit Log — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 TicketSource Ticket Shop 800+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 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.