Recent Posts by Category Widget
by Ross Cornell · Admin & Utilities
Just like the default Recent Posts widget except you can choose a category to pull posts from.
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
4K+
≈4.5K estimated
Momentum
+31%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “category” and “recent posts” 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 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →11%
of downloads still active
At least 4K of 35.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,186 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 4.2.39, 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 4.2.39; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 12 reviews, smoothed to 4.22★ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| recent posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| sidebar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget 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
- “categories”, “category” and “recent posts” 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 384 · 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.
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 “4K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2 years ago; the previous band took 16 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 18 Jul 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Jacques Malgrange9.9y ago
Very good and simple plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ElectricMud10.0y ago
Installation and use is simple and practical (5 stars) but it does not support Multi Site, hence the 2 stars
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Abbas11.0y ago
Works fine, very helpful. Thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mengeco11.2y ago
This plugin would be perfect if we could select multiple categories. Maybe for the next update? It preserves the default styles css of the original theme, that’s great !! Thank you very much Ross !!!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Andrija Naglic11.2y ago
Works just fine with latest version of wp, and is just what I needed, a simple and efficient wp plugin for recent posts filtered by category, no extra features.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jason King11.3y ago
Smart little plugin that’s no bigger than it needs to be, and improves on the default recent posts plugin by adding the ability to choose a category of posts to display.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cutero11.3y ago
Very usefull!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ thorshammer11.4y ago
Thanks for the no-hassle plugin.
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 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
1 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 Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! 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 ("Installation Instructions").
- ! 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 324 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "categories", "sidebar" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-10-29 5K+ → 4K+ down after 479 days in tier
- 2023-07-08 6K+ → 5K+ down after 415 days in tier
- 2022-05-19 7K+ → 6K+ down after 43 days in tier
- 2022-04-06 6K+ → 7K+ up after 357 days in tier
- 2021-04-14 7K+ → 6K+ down after 137 days in tier
- 2020-11-28 8K+ → 7K+ down after 382 days in tier
- 2019-11-12 9K+ → 8K+ down after 376 days in tier
- 2018-11-01 10K+ → 9K+ down after 337 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).
-
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A -
Collapsing Categories 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
Categorized Tag Cloud 1K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags B - C Custom Recent Posts Widget 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D
- N NS Category Widget 1K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Recent Posts by Category Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/recent-posts-by-category-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Recent Posts by Category Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Recent Posts by Category Widget: 4K+ active installs, 4.7★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/recent-posts-by-category-widget
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.