RSS Image Widget
by zackdesign · Content & Feeds
Also makes 4 other plugins · 190+ installs across the portfolio →
Display images from an RSS or Atom feed as a widget or block with a lightweight lightbox gallery.
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
B 73/100
Few reviews
Active installs
60+
≈62 estimated
Momentum
+32%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “feed”, “gallery” and “image” 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.
73 health vs 64 average across 1,193 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.2%
of downloads still active
At least 60 of 33.4K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 864 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Content & Feeds 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 2 releases 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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 250 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
3.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 22d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 22d
-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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| rss image | #17 | #24 | down 1 |
| rss widget | #18 | #24 | down 1 |
| rss images | #24 | #24 | down 4 |
| feed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| gallery your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| image your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rss your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 3 listed. 10 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
- “feed”, “gallery” and “image” 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 142 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #19,100 to #20,000, alongside the other plugins at 60+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
8mo ago
latest release · v3.0.0 · 23 Feb 2026
15
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 30% 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 “60+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just over 60.
At the current install trend, crossing 70+ in roughly 925 days.
Install history since 2 Jun 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Karl Andersson11.6y ago
I used this plugin for a year or so in the sidebar. It worked like a charm, and the plugin author is communicative.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ leopardman13.0y ago
As indicated in a post in the Support Threads: this plugin does cache the images, but they’re all empty. Impossible to make it work.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Display images from an RSS or Atom feed as a widget or block with a lightweight lightbox gallery."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Images aren’t appearing").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 926 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
- 2026-08-31 50+ → 60+ up after 24 days in tier
- 2026-08-07 60+ → 50+ down after 21 days in tier
- 2026-07-17 50+ → 60+ up after 46 days in tier
- 2026-06-01 60+ → 50+ down after 92 days in tier
- 2026-03-01 50+ → 60+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2026-02-24 60+ → 50+ down after 188 days in tier
- 2025-08-20 70+ → 60+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2025-08-13 60+ → 70+ up after 24 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).
-
Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
RSS Feed Widget 2K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags B -
Widgets for Social Post Feed 600+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
Firelight Lightbox 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags B - S Simple Lightbox 100K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for RSS Image Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/rss-image-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="RSS Image Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> RSS Image Widget: 60+ active installs, 3.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/rss-image-widget
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