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RSS Feed Retriever

By Travis

Content Management / Blog & Article Publishing

RSS Feed Retriever Review - In-Depth Analysis

The fastest RSS feeds plugin for WordPress. Includes excerpt and thumbnail image. Use as a news aggregator, autoblog, or RSS parsing.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.78/10

User Rating

4.7/5 (based on 38+ reviews)

Active Installations

7,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin fetches an RSS feed, or multiple feeds, and displays them in an unordered list using shortcode.

It allows you to fetch as many RSS feeds as you want and display them wherever you want using shortcode, including text widgets. You can control whether to display the entire RSS feeds content or just an excerpt, how many words display in the excerpt, and whether it has a Read more link or not.

This lightweight and fast plugin is easy to set up and can fetch thumbnail images or the first image from the feed. You can also set cache time, control the order of items, and aggregate multiple feeds into one list.

Comparing to Alternatives

RSS Feed Retriever stands out among RSS feed plugins by offering customizable feed layouts and straightforward shortcode implementation. It competes with popular plugins like rss-importer and wp-rss-aggregator, providing a balance of features and ease of use.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Allows feed layout customization with minimal coding
Simple shortcode usage for feed display
Free version supports image display in feeds
Good alternative to paid RSS display plugins

Weaknesses

Lacks Gutenberg block support
Alters the site's own RSS feed without clear option to disable
Not updated recently, causing compatibility issues
Limited advanced features compared to some competitors

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights the plugin's simplicity and effectiveness, though some concerns about compatibility and feature limitations are noted.

Positive highlights

"Best RSS feed Plugin" - Khubaib Mehmood appreciates the customizable layout
"Does what it says, perfect for our needs" - hammersmithsociety
"Great alternative to paid plugins for displaying images" - vampyris
"Simple and effective" - hmmcrunchy

Common complaints

No Gutenberg block implementation
Alters site's RSS feed unexpectedly
Not compatible with PHP 8
Lack of recent updates

Weaknesses

No option to disable site RSS feed modification
Missing default message for empty feeds
No block editor support

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a free, straightforward RSS feed plugin with customizable layout options and shortcode support will find this plugin suitable.

Not ideal for

Those needing advanced features, Gutenberg block integration, or compatibility with the latest PHP versions may find this plugin lacking.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers essential RSS feed retrieval and display capabilities, including image support and layout customization through coding.

Pro version

The pro version typically includes advanced features such as enhanced feed management, additional customization options, and priority support.

Final Verdict

RSS Feed Retriever is a solid choice for users who want a simple and customizable RSS feed plugin without cost, especially if they are comfortable with minor coding.

However, its lack of recent updates, absence of Gutenberg block support, and potential compatibility issues with newer PHP versions may limit its appeal for users seeking modern features and seamless integration.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free RSS Feed Retriever plugin.

News aggregator

Rss aggregator

Rss feed

FAQ

This could be because the source you’re fetching from does not include the featured image in their RSS feed. There is nothing you can do to fix this unless you have control of the source website. If so, you can simply install this plugin on the source website and it will include the featured images within the RSS feed automatically.

You can change the layout via WordPress filters. Add the following code to your themes functions.php file:

function custom_rss_layout_callback( $layout ) {     $layout = array(         'thumbnail',         'title',         'content',         'postdata',     );     return $layout; } add_filter( 'wp_rss_retriever_layout', 'custom_rss_layout_callback' );

In addition, you can add your own HTML to the output if you want to wrap elements. Example:

$layout = array(     '<div class="my-custom-class">',         'thumbnail',         'title',         'content',         'postdata',     '</div>' );

Or, if you only want to display the title:

$layout = array(     'title', );

Here’s an example of how to display an RSS feed with PHP

<?php echo do_shortcode('[wp_rss_retriever url="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechCrunch/" items="10" excerpt="50" read_more="true" credits="true" new_window="true" thumbnail="200" cache="7200"]'); ?>