Better Recent Comments

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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.

Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.

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.

2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 78% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 7 months ago and the previous band took 3 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 3K.

1. ★★★★★ tnn

   4.8y ago

   The author gave a solution ( unrelated to the plugin ) to modify the comment excerpt length (*) ALL ACROSS YOUR SITE 😂 , which is not really a solution, is extremely invasive and certainly not wanted by anyone looking to build a coherent user experience on their site. Users should be able to set different excerpt lengths for each shortcode, that’s the bare minimum for any comment plugin. ( e.g. 10 words on “homepage” excerpts, 20 words on “profile page”, no limit on “all recent comments” page ). Something like that. A similar plugin : WordPress comment plus does that, but your plugin is better in terms of styling, so I’ll just have to deal with that shitty excerpt handicap for the time being. ///////////////////////////// the invasive “solution” /// add_filter( ‘comment_excerpt_length’, function( $number_of_words ) { return 50; } ); This topic was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by tnn.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ bibblybob

   4.9y ago

   Looks perfect! Much better than the in-built WordPress widget. Well done!

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Rick Hellewell

   5.0y ago

   Although there are many ways to put a ‘recent column’ widget in your sidebar, this is the best. Easy to customize (read the docs for shortcode parameters), and insert a block that contains the shortcode with all of your desired options. Add a ‘<h3 class=widget-title>Recent Comments</h3>’ just above the shortcode to put a heading. Great stuff !

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ scopie

   5.2y ago

   Beautiful and simple.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ Topher

   5.3y ago

   I used the default Recent Comments plugin and was dismayed by how ugly and uninformative it was. It doesn’t show the comments! Better Recent Comments shows a nice avatar AND the actual comment. Perfect.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ litbes

   5.7y ago

   I have been using the plugin for more than two years, installed it on two sites – it works perfectly! A huge number of output options, in addition, there is a widget and a shortcode. Thank you very much to the developer for his great work!

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ jimmysun

   5.7y ago

   Great plugin, works flawlessly, and very easy to use. The comments now appear nicely on my site. My only wish is to be able to hide site owner / admin’s comments. Thanks!

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ Andre

   6.0y ago

   This is the only one out of 3 advanced recent comments widget plugins I’ve tested that didn’t work at all in Oxygen builder. Throws out an error message about not being registered with the WordPress installation.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.2.0 Release date 27 March 2024 * Fix notices in PHP 8.2 * Misc: Update author to Kestrel 1.2.0
2. — Version 1.1.9 Release date 14 November 2023 Dev: Added the barn2 libraries Dev: Tested up to WordPress 6.4 1.1.9
3. — Version 1.1.8 Release date 17 Aug 2023 Fixed warnings in PHP 8.1 Support multi post types 1.1.8
4. — Version 1.1.7 Release date 30 March 2023 Added support for the replies parameter in the shortcode 1.1.7
5. — Version 1.1.6 Release date 02 Jan 2023 Tested up to WordPress 6.1.1 1.1.6
6. — Version 1.1.5 Release date 17 June 2021 Fix the WPML integration to support the ‘post_type’ option. Tested up to WordPress 5.7.2. 1.1.5

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.4.3

Translated into 126 languages, 1 at 90% or more

Plus 102 more locales with partial translations.

Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.

Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-04-01 3K+ → 2K+ down after 1103 days in tier
2. 2023-03-25 4K+ → 3K+ down after 852 days in tier
3. 2020-11-23 3K+ → 4K+ up after 376 days in tier
4. 2019-11-13 1K+ → 3K+ up after 864 days in tier
5. 2017-07-02 100+ → 1K+ up

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).

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Better Recent Comments into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Better Recent Comments: 2K+ active installs, 4.8★ (16 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/better-recent-comments