Featured Post
by Sovit Tamrakar · Uncategorized
Also makes 1 other plugin · 880+ installs across the portfolio →
Featured Post Plugin for Wordpress.
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
D 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
800+
≈870 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “featured”, “featured custom posts” and “featured post” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
48 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.0%
of downloads still active
At least 800 of 40.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.0.38, well behind 6.8.
Details
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3259 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.0.38; the current branch is 6.8
4.6★ over 14 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3259 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
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.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| featured your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| featured custom posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| featured post your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “featured”, “featured custom posts” and “featured post” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 168 · 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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
12.1y ago
latest release · v3.2.1 · 12 Sep 2014
5
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 99% 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 “800+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 69% of the way through.
Install history since 19 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ rftbdev3.3y ago
This is not a hate post. The plugin worked fine for a website for many years! Unfortunately with PHP updates one of the functions has been removed completely as of PHP 8.create_function() has been removed from PHP as of version 8.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Daniel Hendricks9.9y ago
I love this plugin. It’s simple, small and easy to modify. Best of all, it has a simple interface for end-users. NOTE: You may wish to download the plugin from the GitHub link in the description. This one is at version 3.2.1 but the GitHub one is at version 3.5. Works great on WordPress 4.6.1!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ vnastey10.5y ago
This plugin is awesome, but how can i customize the output? how to rewrite the output, for example, print the category, content of the post?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ andrewcow10811.3y ago
Awesome! It took me a while to get working because I am a bit of a dunce with web design. I couldn’t figure out which line to add the code on. For me on my index.php, is was just after the get_header line (so on line 2). Hope this helps others!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Tran Cuong11.9y ago
Hmm, In general It’s good except when I turn on DEBUG, it has several error notifs. Anyway, thanks for your work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hoanggiang1212.4y ago
Thank for the plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wpsayan12.6y ago
Its really a superb plugin & worked great with 3.8.2. I don’t know why it is so ill rated.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ JohnRI12.6y ago
Test your updates more in the future. Base functionality works. Plugin should allow you to feature from new post window though.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
3 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description is 35 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 6 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 494 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "Featured Custom Posts" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 900+ → 800+ down after 112 days in tier
- 2026-03-20 1K+ → 900+ down after 817 days in tier
- 2023-12-24 2K+ → 1K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2023-12-22 1K+ → 2K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2023-12-21 2K+ → 1K+ down after 443 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 3K+ → 2K+ down after 413 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 4K+ → 3K+ down after 376 days in tier
- 2020-08-06 5K+ → 4K+ 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).
- N NS Featured Posts 4K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A
-
Post Duplicator 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A - W WP Admin UI Customize 30K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C
-
Hide Featured Image 10K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D - P Public Post Preview Configurator 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
-
WP Hide Show Featured Image 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Featured Post into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/featured-post" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Featured Post — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Featured Post: 800+ active installs, 4.6★ (14 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/featured-post
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