RSS with Images
by Ethan Allen · Content & Feeds
Also makes 1 other plugin · 310+ installs across the portfolio →
Seamlessly adds featured images to your RSS feed with customizable sizing options.
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 43/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
300+
≈360 estimated
Momentum
+56%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “featured image” for “feedburner”. “featured image” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “feedburner” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
43 health vs 64 average across 1,198 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 21.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 866 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.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25.
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 2292 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25; the current branch is 6.8
3.7★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2292 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.
42
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
+0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 26d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 26d
+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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| feedburner | #17 | #14 | 0 |
| featured image your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| featured images your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| mailchimp your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rss your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rss feed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 3 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
- Swap “featured image” for “feedburner”. “featured image” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “feedburner” sits at #17 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 127 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ 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 1 Nov 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
6.3y ago
latest release · v1.4.0 · 24 Jul 2020
6
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 “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 57% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Jun 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ firan6.8y ago
It’s very-very good job!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ comunicacionabierta9.6y ago
It´s great to be able to have the RSS with images, but also to be able to configure for Mailchimp so your newsletters looks awesome. Also a great support from @endifmedia !
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ konus7710.8y ago
While I think it is OK to inform the user once, I don’t like, that the Dasboard Notification “Want more features? Upgrade to RSS with Images Premium ” can’t be dismissed. If I click on the cross to close the information, I comes back after every reload of the page. I reported this as bug already two month ago and I am annoyed now.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Scott Bowler11.0y ago
Had to leave my first ever rating for a WordPress plugin because I felt the current 3/5 star rating was extremely unfair. I’ve used this plugin on a production site for over a year (to integrate with Mailchimp RSS campaigns) and it’s worked flawlessly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ PXMstaff11.1y ago
After some tweaking in the code to remove the image size limitations and pairing it up with the AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild plugin, this little plugin works great for our custom Mailchimp feed! I also vote for the ability to have larger images since many RSS fed newsletters are 600px wide. Some clients do prefer a larger featured image option. Our tweak works, but then we have to remember to “fix” the plugin when we run an update.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ norsecorporation11.1y ago
This page contains the following errors: error on line 197 at column 25: Input is not proper UTF-8, indicate encoding ! Bytes: 0x03 0x43 0x6F 0x72 I tried changing settings, no fix 🙁
Read on wp.org ↗
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 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Seamlessly adds featured images to your RSS feed with customizable sizing options."
- ! 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 Mentions Mailchimp, HubSpot, Zoho.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 808 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
- 2026-05-29 400+ → 300+ down after 278 days in tier
- 2025-08-24 500+ → 400+ down after 104 days in tier
- 2025-05-12 600+ → 500+ down after 122 days in tier
- 2025-01-10 700+ → 600+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2025-01-06 600+ → 700+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-01-04 700+ → 600+ down after 40 days in tier
- 2024-11-25 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-24 700+ → 800+ up after 1 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).
-
Featured Image in RSS Feed by MailerLite 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B - M MB ImageChimp RSS Feed Enhancer 700+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D
-
RSS Chimp – Featured Images for RSS Feeds 400+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Quick Featured Images 50K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Send Images to RSS 3K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for RSS with Images into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/rss-with-images" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="RSS with Images — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> RSS with Images: 300+ active installs, 3.7★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/rss-with-images
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