Add Featured Image to RSS Feed
by Corey Salzano · Content & Feeds
Also makes 10 other plugins · 7.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Adds the featured image attached to posts to the beginning of the post content and excerpt in RSS feeds.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 82/100
no flags
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+8%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “feed”, “post thumbnail” and “featured image” for “rss reader”, “feed reader” and “rss feed”. “feed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “rss reader” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “post thumbnail” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “feed reader” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “featured image” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #15. “rss feed” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
82 health vs 64 average across 1,193 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.3%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 46K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 863 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Content & Feeds plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2024-02-26Older reviewers loved how simply it worked, while the newest ones report images not showing up at all and breaking in Feedly and other aggregators.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 127 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.3★ over 12 reviews, smoothed to 4.14★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
36
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
18%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.5
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| add featured image to rss your tag | #1 | #3 | 0 |
| add featured image your tag | #3 | #9 | 0 |
| rss reader | #4 | #9 | 0 |
| rss feed | #8 | #13 | down 2 |
| attached | #9 | #17 | down 1 |
| feed reader | #7 | #14 | 0 |
| rss | #12 | #16 | down 2 |
| show rss feed | #5 | #11 | up 1 |
| featured image your tag | #15 | #19 | down 1 |
| featured images in rss | #5 | #9 | down 2 |
| rss feeds | #13 | #19 | down 1 |
| rss image | #6 | #11 | up 1 |
| feed rss | #6 | #10 | down 1 |
| featured | #19 | #19 | down 1 |
| feed excerpt | #8 | #19 | 0 |
| wordpress feed excerpt | #9 | #18 | 0 |
| wordpress rss feed | #9 | #13 | down 3 |
| rss page | #10 | #16 | 0 |
| rss post | #10 | #13 | down 1 |
| rss plugin | #12 | #15 | up 1 |
| feed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post thumbnail your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
45 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 19 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “feed”, “post thumbnail” and “featured image” for “rss reader”, “feed reader” and “rss feed”. “feed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “rss reader” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “post thumbnail” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “feed reader” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “featured image” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #15. “rss feed” sits at #8 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “featured image”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.9K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v1.1.5 · 26 Jun 2026
7
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 98% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 17 Oct 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ legarsfred2.7y ago
Nothing appeared on my rss feed after install.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pizienolamitica3.2y ago
Great plugin. I use it from 3 years. In the last 1 month it doesn’t works with Feedly. My RSS’s images are compromised and doesn’t show on Feedly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Daniele Muscetta6.7y ago
It works but it adds an array of images (srcset) and I found that this breaks some aggregators that expect just the single img src.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ James Kraus11.2y ago
It still adds the image to our RSS feed. Reliable plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Tevya11.9y ago
I’d really hoped this was the plugin I’ve been looking for. Unfortunately it adds a new image size, and inserts that in your feed. It won’t go back and add those from previous posts, unless you go back and delete the featured image and re-add it. That makes it basically unuseable for any established blogs. Why can’t someone just make a plugin that just adds the featured image with maybe an option to insert full, large, or medium size, and not force it to conform to a certain size. Just put max-width: 100% and leave it at that. Using MailChimp’s responsive layouts (which everyone should be doing), you want the image to be responsive as well so it doesn’t ruin the responsiveness of the whole MailChimp template. This actually makes things simpler, but everyone seems to want to set sizes, crop the image, etc. All most of us want is to insert the featured image into the email, and keep it responsive.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ BTTV12.2y ago
After deleting the plugin my feed is down!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ matteobianchi0012.4y ago
Works great!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ melissaaa13.1y ago
I want to hug you. This was so simple to use, I just installed it and it worked. Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Share of voice
How often each assistant names Add Featured Image to RSS Feed when asked about this topic, where it comes in the answer, and how that compares with its wp.org search position. Latest run 25 Oct 2026.
- Assistants
- ChatGPT, Claude
- Topics tracked
- RSS feeds
Readme readiness
3 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Adds the featured image attached to posts to the beginning of the post content and excerpt in RSS feeds."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 559 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("add featured image", "add featured image to rss", "post thumbnail" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-02-08 3K+ → 2K+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-02-05 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-04 3K+ → 2K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-02-02 2K+ → 3K+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-01-30 3K+ → 2K+ down after 157 days in tier
- 2025-08-26 2K+ → 3K+ up after 3074 days in tier
- 2017-03-27 3K+ → 2K+ down
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Multiple Featured Images 5K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags D -
Feed Post Thumbnail 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Featured Image in RSS Feed by MailerLite 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
SB RSS feed plus 1K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags D - M MB ImageChimp RSS Feed Enhancer 700+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Add Featured Image to RSS Feed into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/add-featured-image-to-rss-feed" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Add Featured Image to RSS Feed — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Add Featured Image to RSS Feed: 2K+ active installs, 4.3★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/add-featured-image-to-rss-feed
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