NS Featured Posts
by Nilambar Sharma · Uncategorized
Also makes 5 other plugins · 6.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
A plugin for making posts, pages, or custom post types featured. Users can enable/disable Featured flags for selected post types.
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
A 89/100
no flags
Active installs
4K+
≈4.5K estimated
Momentum
-32%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “custom” for “flags”. “custom” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “flags” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.3%
of downloads still active
At least 4K of 120.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 59 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 29 reviews, smoothed to 4.36★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
55
Momentum
Holding steady
+0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
54%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+1.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| featured posts | #1 | #1 | up 1 |
| featured post your tag | #1 | #1 | up 1 |
| featured posts plugin | #1 | #1 | up 1 |
| featured your tag | #5 | #5 | 0 |
| featured custom posts | #3 | #6 | up 4 |
| featured posts widget | #5 | #10 | up 1 |
| flags | #23 | #18 | up 1 |
| featured page | #10 | #15 | 0 |
| fetch | #20 | #14 | up 1 |
| custom your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| meta your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
20 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 9 listed. 11 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “custom” for “flags”. “custom” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “flags” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 5K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
2mo ago
latest release · v4.0.0 · 2 Sep 2026
25
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 “4K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 12 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 29 Oct 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Troy Larsen8mo ago
It’s great.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ woyz19911.0y ago
Good
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Marcial Quintanar1.2y ago
Muy bien This topic was modified 11 months, 2 weeks ago by Marcial Quintanar.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jeffsantos1.5y ago
Simple, useful and clean.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ekrielen1.5y ago
Never had a problem with this plugin 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous2.0y ago
And does it flawlessly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Zennie Abraham2.1y ago
This plugin just works for Zennie62Media websites and our news auto-vlog and blog post system, it’s extremely valuable. This topic was modified 9 months, 1 week ago by Zennie Abraham.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gnilabja2.1y ago
A useful plugin for choose featured posts.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 132 languages, 3 at 90% or more
Plus 108 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
2 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A plugin for making posts, pages, or custom post types featured. Users can enable/disable Featured flags fo..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 2 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 687 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-10-31 5K+ → 4K+ down after 361 days in tier
- 2024-11-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 1505 days in tier
- 2020-09-21 7K+ → 6K+ down after 629 days in tier
- 2019-01-01 6K+ → 7K+ up after 433 days in tier
- 2017-10-25 5K+ → 6K+ up after 305 days in tier
- 2016-12-24 4K+ → 5K+ up after 271 days in tier
- 2016-03-28 3K+ → 4K+ up after 139 days in tier
- 2015-11-10 2K+ → 3K+ up after 65 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).
- F Featured Post 800+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D
- S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Hide Featured Image 10K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D -
Custom Post Type Maker 6K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D - C Custom Shortcodes 5K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for NS Featured Posts into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/ns-featured-posts" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="NS Featured Posts — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> NS Featured Posts: 4K+ active installs, 4.8★ (29 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/ns-featured-posts
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