TW Recent Posts Widget
by tweetysha · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 2 other plugins · 2.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
A simple and flexible widget for WordPress which will show recent posts from selected category allowing increased customization to display recent post …
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
1K+
≈1.5K estimated
Momentum
+22%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “advanced recent posts”, “advanced recent posts widget” and “category” 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.
47 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 70.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,187 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 4.4.34, 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 4.4.34; the current branch is 6.8
4.4★ over 15 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| advanced recent posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| advanced recent posts widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| recent posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| recent posts 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
- “advanced recent posts”, “advanced recent posts widget” and “category” 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 234 · 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 · v1.0.5 · 28 Nov 2017
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 “1K+”. 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 11 Jun 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Anonymous10.4y ago
Simple et efficace. Une bonne alternative au défunt Special Recent Posts FREE Edition. Merci
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dailyshoe10.7y ago
I’m so glad I found it! The only thing I’d like to do is be able to centre the image in the widget.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jonaso11.5y ago
Seems the category function no longer works with the most recent WP update? Anybody else have this issue?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jeffro12.0y ago
I use this widget to show the last ten posts in a category. The widget shows the last 10 posts in the shownotes category and is displayed on the podcast information page. It’s an enhanced version of the default WordPress recent posts widget. This one works just fine and has options to boot.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gusliedke13.0y ago
good job
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kylomylo13.3y ago
This widget increases my page load time with over 10s and the thumbnail wasn’t extract by himself from post so didn’t work as I expect.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jeff Sherk13.5y ago
Works really good. Would just like to be able to include/exclude exactly which categories you want. Currently you can only select one category or all categories, but I have several categories I want to show and several I do not. Thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ raacer13.6y ago
Provides ALL most used options!
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 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A simple and flexible widget for WordPress which will show recent posts from selected category allowing inc..."
- ! 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 517 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "advanced recent posts", "advanced recent posts widget" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-11-08 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-11-07 1K+ → 2K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-11-06 2K+ → 1K+ down after 714 days in tier
- 2023-11-23 3K+ → 2K+ down after 415 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 4K+ → 3K+ down after 413 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 5K+ → 4K+ down after 299 days in tier
- 2020-10-22 7K+ → 5K+ down after 382 days in tier
- 2019-10-06 8K+ → 7K+ down after 278 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).
- R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
- C Custom Recent Posts Widget 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Posts per Cat 200+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags C -
Service Boxes Widgets Text Icon 100+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D -
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Pages with category and tag 50K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for TW Recent Posts Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/tw-recent-posts-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="TW Recent Posts Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> TW Recent Posts Widget: 1K+ active installs, 4.4★ (15 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/tw-recent-posts-widget
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