Better RSS Feeds
by Waterloo Plugins · Content & Feeds
Also makes 3 other plugins · 250+ installs across the portfolio →
Better RSS Feeds improves the appearance of your RSS feeds.
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
F 39/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
-13%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “feed”, “rss” and “rss feed” 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.
39 health vs 64 average across 1,193 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.2%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 42K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 863 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.
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 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30, 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 2612 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.2.30; the current branch is 6.8
2.9★ over 19 reviews, smoothed to 3.77★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2612 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| feed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rss your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rss feed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “feed”, “rss” and “rss feed” 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 184 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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
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 · 76% 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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.2 years 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 27 May 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Jochen Gererstorfer6.2y ago
Great Plugin, I hope you will update it in the future.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ladislavsulc9.4y ago
My VPS provider just stopped my high traffic magazine because of this plugin (look for the folder linklove), it sends spam / get rid of it and do not install!!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ vincurekf9.5y ago
This plugin generates spam links and that results in Google blocking your site or giving it bad reputation in search results. Don’t install, it’s not worth it. I have been having problems wit this plugin for 5 months now. Complete garbage.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ madderose9.6y ago
This plugin is now garbage. It’s stopping any robot from crawling your site. Should be deleted from the store.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ josephsb9.7y ago
This plugin contains spam links which are injected into your website. It basically kills your search rankings. In my case it linked to wptutor.io with text that said Powered By Wp Tutor.io Took me 5 months to find out this plugin was responsible. Why would someone do stuff like this is beyond me.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ardant9.7y ago
The following bug causes 500 errors to show to Google/Yahoo/Bing crawlers meaning the whole site will be unindexed. PHP Fatal error: Call to undefined function is_user_logged_in() in /public_html/wp-content/plugins/xslt/xslt.php on line 50 A fix is to add this line to the top of the xslt.php file. include_once(ABSPATH . ‘wp-includes/pluggable.php’);
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Beej9.7y ago
This plugin is of limited utility. However, in one of its updates, it managed to completely block crawlers from indexing my site. Nearly cost me my job. Goodbye, Bitter RSS Feeds!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Brullworfel9.8y ago
It’s very strange, but after plugin activating google bots can’t get ANY page on the site. In server logs http error 500 for all google bot requests. It’s ok for real users requests and it’s ok for google after plugin deactivating. Sorry. This topic was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Brullworfel.
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
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 "Better RSS Feeds improves the appearance of your RSS feeds."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 2 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 722 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 3 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-09-06 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-09-05 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-09-04 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-09-03 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-09-02 200+ → 100+ down after 500 days in tier
- 2023-04-21 300+ → 200+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2023-04-09 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2023-04-08 300+ → 200+ down after 335 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 -
Featured Image in RSS Feed by MailerLite 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B -
RSS Feed Pro 400+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
RSS for Yandex Turbo 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B -
RSS Includes Pages 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Better RSS Feeds into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/xslt" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Better RSS Feeds — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Better RSS Feeds: 100+ active installs, 2.9★ (19 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/xslt
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