Recent Posts Plus
by pjgalbraith · Admin & Utilities
An advanced version of the WordPress Recent Posts widget, allows display of thumbnails, post excerpt, author, comment count, and more.
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
900+
≈990 estimated
Momentum
+37%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “post plugins”, “posts” and “recent” 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 →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 51.5K 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 3.5.2, 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 3.5.2; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 14 reviews, smoothed to 4.25★ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| post plugins your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| recent your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| recent posts 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
- “post plugins”, “posts” and “recent” 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 247 · 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
8.9y ago
latest release · v1.0.11 · 28 Nov 2017
10
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 “900+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and the previous band took 2.3 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 1K.
Install history since 6 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Damiaan van Vliet10.7y ago
I use this plug-in already a few years and it is great in customising. For example it has easy Widget Output Template ability on the widget itself. So you can add for example the author’s name to be displayed using the {AUTHOR} code! And with WP version 4.4.2 still working 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jonasrafael12.0y ago
works perfectly on latest version of wordpress! amz!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bahuett12.2y ago
thumbs up Very nice work indeed because of the WP_Query and PHP-code options in the widget. same for me, you made my day! i was looking for a widget to get the latest post, the 2nd latest, the 3rd latest (by date) etc…. tried like 7 or 8 widgets and i had yours installed while testing the last 4 of them.. till i clicked your plugin-homepage link. i had to change a bit in the code, i hope you dont mind. but that’s another great feature. only 1 php file to edit. what did i change: even when the title has zero size ” its being wrapped up by header tags <h3>
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Matt Jensen12.2y ago
Just want to give my kudos for an extremely well done, powerful, and well thought out plugin. Thanks again Cheers Matt
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sabinevi12.7y ago
Very nice work indeed because of the WP_Query and PHP-code options in the widget.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ barnomics12.9y ago
Simple to use and a lot of customization available. Great job!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Tom12.9y ago
The optional thumbnails are missing. Still it is a fantastic plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ marcrock13.0y ago
And it’s easy to use.
Read on wp.org ↗
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "An advanced version of the WordPress Recent Posts widget, allows display of thumbnails, post excerpt, autho..."
- ! 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 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 643 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "post-plugins" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-24 1K+ → 900+ down after 847 days in tier
- 2024-03-29 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-28 1K+ → 2K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-27 2K+ → 1K+ down after 498 days in tier
- 2022-11-15 3K+ → 2K+ down after 455 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 4K+ → 3K+ down after 297 days in tier
- 2020-10-24 5K+ → 4K+ down after 465 days in tier
- 2019-07-17 8K+ → 5K+ down after 599 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★ · 2 shared tags A - U Ultimate Posts Widget 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C
- N Newpost Catch 9K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Flexible Posts Widget 7K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags D -
Add Widget After Content 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Superb Recent Posts With Thumbnail Images 6K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Recent Posts Plus into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/recent-posts-plus" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Recent Posts Plus — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Recent Posts Plus: 900+ active installs, 4.8★ (14 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/recent-posts-plus
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