Featured Posts and Custom Posts
by Jeremy Selph · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 110+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows the user to feature posts and custom posts. When a post is featured it gets the post metta _jsFeaturedPost.
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 44/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
90+
≈100 estimated
Momentum
-13%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “custom post types”, “custom posts” and “featured” 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.
44 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 90 of 10.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,765 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 11+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.1.42, 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 4265 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.1.42; the current branch is 6.8
4.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.09★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4265 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| custom post types your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| featured 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. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “custom post types”, “custom posts” and “featured” 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 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 221 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #16,800 to #17,400, alongside the other plugins at 90+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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
11.7y ago
latest release · v5.0 · 26 Feb 2015
2
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “90+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band today and the previous band took 2.2 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 100.
Install history since 28 Mar 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ radgh11.6y ago
I got this to use for a custom post type to let the client star some posts that will show up in a custom widget on the front page. It seemed like the plugin would work well enough, since this isn’t a difficult thing to implement. But I’m seeing two stars appear for my custom post type. Whether or not it works doesn’t matter, this is not acceptable and would be embarassing to show a client. Here’s a screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/F8yoANS.jpg I would make this a support request, but it seems this was reported two years ago and never had a response. I’m not even using Magic Fields, so this isn’t a plugin conflict. This explicitly states “Custom Posts” in the title of the plugin, yet this bug hasn’t been fixed. Ok?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Yasp013.6y ago
Was looking for a plugin to set a custom post as featured. This plugin does the job perfectly! Allows users to set post(s) as featured live with just 1 simple click.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous13.9y ago
Was looking for a simple replacement for a plugin that broke with the 3.5 update, and this fit the bill (and in fact, I like it better than the original). Great for blogs with featured sliders or content areas, this allows users to easily set posts as featured through the Posts admin area.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
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 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allows the user to feature posts and custom posts. When a post is featured it gets the post metta _jsFeatur..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Coming Soon").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and 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 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,100 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-31 100+ → 90+ down after 818 days in tier
- 2024-08-04 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-08-03 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-08-01 200+ → 100+ down after 723 days in tier
- 2022-08-09 400+ → 200+ 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).
-
Posts in Page 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C -
No Page Comment 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B -
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A - A Author Filters 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Post List Featured Image 900+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D - F Featured Post 800+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Featured Posts and Custom Posts into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/featured-posts-and-custom-posts" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Featured Posts and Custom Posts — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Featured Posts and Custom Posts: 90+ active installs, 4.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/featured-posts-and-custom-posts
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