Flexible Posts Widget
by DaveE · Admin & Utilities
An advanced posts display widget with many options. Display posts in your sidebars any way you'd like!
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 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
7K+
≈7.7K estimated
Momentum
+16%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “posts” and “tags” 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.
50 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.2%
of downloads still active
At least 7K of 217.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,188 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities 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 4.7.39, 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 4.7.39; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 56 reviews, smoothed to 4.42★
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tags your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 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.
What to do about it
- “categories”, “posts” and “tags” 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 662 · 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
9.8y ago
latest release · v3.5.0 · 31 Dec 2016
23
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 “7K+”. 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 70% of the way through.
Install history since 27 Aug 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ aljuk7.7y ago
This topic was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by aljuk. This topic was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by aljuk.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ 7am8.3y ago
The URI are different when you’re admin or just subscriber. Don’t work for everyone.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Bobthearch8.4y ago
I can Select a Taxonomy as shown in the plugin screenshot, “Tags” for instance, but there is no Select Terms box. Without a way to select which tags, this plugin is useless. I suspect it needs to be updated. How so many non-functioning never-updated plugins are allowed to remain listed for all time at WordPress… So frustrating.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rom1our9.6y ago
Imagine, you have a post about wedding and in the footer the flexible post widget shows – when the crawler passes – in the category “practical tipps” the post “public toilets”. When you search “public toilets in the city x” as result the search engine will give out the post of the wedding. Probably it would be necessary to noindex the output of the widget. I and others evidenced the problem to support but no answer. I’m actually looking for an alternative as this behaviour of the widget is not acceptable.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Torgut10.0y ago
It works properly, but it lacks a nice visual design and above all, for what it is, it’s not understandable how come it doesn’t display the date of publishing of the posts.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ GoddessNYC10.3y ago
Great options and easy to use! Looks great on the sites! Thank you so much!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous User 1497862810.4y ago
Easily the best plugin of its kind. Thanks to the author for his amazing work! One small suggestion: provide the ability to not display current post in widget.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Christina10.5y ago
This has got to be the most useful plugin of its kind.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.5.0 Major codebase rewrite to prepare for additional widgets, options. Automatically updates any widget settings when the plugin is updated to a new version Multi Language support (WPML & PolyLang) Term selection box now use 3.5.0
- — Version 3.4.1 Version bump for WordPress 4.1 support. 3.4.1
- — Version 3.4 Added Finnish language support. (Props: @eccola) Made the Template Filename field a select box based on the templates available in the current theme, the parent theme (if the current theme is a child theme) and the plugi 3.4
- — Version 3.3.1 Added plugin icon. Version bump for WordPress 4.0 support. 3.3.1
- — Version 3.3 Refactored the PHP Class to encapsulate the plugin. Added the ability to sort posts by “Post ID Order”. Useful when getting posts using the ID tab post__in . (Props: @cinus89) Added Russian translation. (Props: @mizhgun) 3.3
- — Version 3.2.2 Version bump for WordPress 3.8 support 3.2.2
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 74 languages, 3 at 90% or more
Plus 50 more locales with partial translations.
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
6 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "An advanced posts display widget with many options. Display posts in your sidebars any way you'd like!"
- ✓ Has a FAQ 9 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 9 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 Mentions WPML, Polylang.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 3 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,765 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("categories", "tags", "widgets" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-14 8K+ → 7K+ down after 223 days in tier
- 2025-12-03 9K+ → 8K+ down after 191 days in tier
- 2025-05-26 10K+ → 9K+ down after 1065 days in tier
- 2022-06-26 20K+ → 10K+ down after 1332 days in tier
- 2018-11-02 30K+ → 20K+ down after 797 days in tier
- 2016-08-27 20K+ → 30K+ 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).
-
Essential Widgets 10K+ installs · 3.8★ · 4 shared tags B -
SEO Auto Linker 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags C -
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
List category posts 80K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Media Library Assistant 70K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Widget Context 30K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Flexible Posts Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/flexible-posts-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Flexible Posts Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Flexible Posts Widget: 7K+ active installs, 4.7★ (56 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/flexible-posts-widget
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