Last Viewed Posts by WPBeginner
by jottlieb · Uncategorized
This shows your site's visitors a personalized list of posts and pages they have recently viewed.
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
C 58/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
400+
≈500 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: Add “most viewed posts” to your wp.org tags. You rank #24 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 3 listed it's a slot worth spending.
58 health vs 58 average across 25,768 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 24.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,778 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.
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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 693 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 7.1
2.3★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.00★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 693 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.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.8
Velocity
places per keyword, 21d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 21d
-0.3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| last viewed posts your tag | #2 | #19 | 0 |
| recently viewed posts your tag | #5 | #21 | down 1 |
| visited posts your tag | #24 | #24 | — |
| recently viewed | #24 | #24 | down 1 |
| posts viewed recently | #10 | #22 | down 2 |
| most viewed posts | #24 | #24 | down 3 |
7 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 6 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Add “most viewed posts” to your wp.org tags. You rank #24 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 3 listed it's a slot worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 591 · 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
1.9y ago
latest release · v1.0.2 · 9 Dec 2024
8
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 62% 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 “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 days ago and the previous band took 15 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 500.
Install history since 15 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ zonkeroo1.8y ago
This appears to be the only widget to show an end user the last post they viewed. My site is a WIKI type of site and users may get lost so this would be extremely helpful.It works – BUT:You cannot adjust the large heading or indentation in the sidebar – I can sort of live with that – BUT – Worst is you cannot set a post limit. The list of last viewed posts goes on forever. It seems like such an obvious setting to add, it boggles the mind that they left it out. Ruins the widget. Can’t live with this fail.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ JJNW6.8y ago
Several issues with this plugin. Great idea, but too many errors: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead in last_viewed_posts.php on line 64, or like Cannot modify header information – headers already sent by last_viewed_posts.php on line 87, etc.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sydneycraig13.5y ago
great plugin and support is excellent 5*
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.0.2). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Critical · 9.8 Last Viewed Posts by WPBeginner <= 1.0.0 - Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection ↗
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 2 at 90% or more
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
4 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 "This shows your site's visitors a personalized list of posts and pages they have recently viewed."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WPForms, Google Analytics.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,209 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 3 tags appear in the text; "visited posts" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-30 500+ → 400+ down after 442 days in tier
- 2025-08-14 600+ → 500+ down after 755 days in tier
- 2023-07-21 700+ → 600+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2023-07-19 600+ → 700+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2023-07-10 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-07-09 600+ → 700+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2023-07-07 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-07-06 600+ → 700+ up after 13 days in tier
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 Last Viewed Posts by WPBeginner into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/last-viewed-posts" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Last Viewed Posts by WPBeginner — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Last Viewed Posts by WPBeginner: 400+ active installs, 2.3★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/last-viewed-posts
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