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Flexible Posts Widget

By DaveE

Site Administration & Utilities /

Flexible Posts Widget Review - In-Depth Analysis

An advanced posts display widget with many options. Display posts in your sidebars any way you'd like!

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.79/10

User Rating

4.6/5 (based on 57+ reviews)

Active Installations

8,000+

Update Frequency

Below 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

The default Recent Posts widget is exceptionally basic. I always find myself in need of a way to easily display a selection of posts from any combination post type or taxonomy. Hence, Flexible Posts Widget.

Flexible Posts Widget (FPW) is more than just a simple alternative to the default Recent Posts widget. With many per-instance options it is highly customizable and allows advanced users to display the resulting posts virtually any way imaginable.

Features include customizable widget titles, the ability to get posts by post type(s) and/or taxonomy & term(s) or directly by a list of post IDs, and control over the number of posts displayed. You can also display the post feature image and select its size from existing image sizes defined by the current theme.

Order posts by date, modified date, ID, title, menu order, random, or Post ID Order, and sort them in ascending or descending order. Each widget's output can be customized by user-defined templates added to the current theme folder. The plugin supports multi-language and is compatible with WPML and PolyLang.

Comparing to Alternatives

Flexible Posts Widget offers a straightforward way to display posts with some customization, but it faces competition from other plugins that provide more advanced features and better design options.

Top alternatives

Flexible Posts Widget

Strengths

Easy to use with basic customization options
Integrates well with most WordPress themes
Lightweight and does not slow down the site

Weaknesses

Lacks advanced visual design features
Does not display post publishing dates
Limited taxonomy term selection functionality
No support for SEO optimization like noindex options

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights ease of use and basic functionality but also points out significant limitations and issues.

Positive highlights

Great options and easy to use! Looks great on the sites! (GoddessNYC)
Works okay for basic needs (aljuk)

Common complaints

Lacks display of post publishing dates (Torgut)
No support or response to issues reported (rom1our)
Taxonomy term selection is broken or missing (Bobthearch)
URI issues causing inconsistent behavior for different user roles (7am)

Weaknesses

Visual design is minimal and not appealing
Functionality issues with taxonomy term selection
SEO concerns due to widget output not being noindexed
Lack of developer support and updates

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who need a simple and lightweight posts widget with basic customization and do not require advanced design or SEO features.

Not ideal for

Those looking for a visually appealing widget, advanced filtering options, reliable taxonomy term selection, or active support should consider other plugins.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version provides basic post display options with some customization but lacks advanced features and support.

Final Verdict

Flexible Posts Widget is a simple and easy-to-use plugin suitable for users needing basic post display functionality without advanced features.

However, it suffers from design limitations, functionality issues, and lack of support, making it less ideal for users requiring more robust and reliable solutions.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Flexible Posts Widget plugin.

posts display

widget options

customizable widget

Screenshots

FAQ

Upload the flexible-posts-widget folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
Go to ‘Appearance’ > ‘Widgets’ and place the widget into a sidebar to configure it.

To use a custom HTML output template

Create a folder called flexible-posts-widget in the root folder of the currently active theme.
Copy widget.php from within the plugin’s views folder into your theme’s new flexible-posts-widget folder.
Rename your theme’s widget.php template file to a name of your choice. Example: my-template.php.
Go to ‘Appearance’ > ‘Widgets’ in WordPress to configure an instance of the widget.
In the ‘Template Filename’ field choose the name of the template file you added to your theme. Example: My Template

Per a WordPress support thread:

Go to Posts in your WordPress admin, and click the post you need the ID of. Then, if you look in the address bar of your browser, you’ll see something like this:

http://example.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1280&action=edit

The number, in this case 1280, is the post ID.

You’ll want to create a custom HTML template by following the instructions and then you can use the standard WordPress Custom Field functions the same way you would if you were editing your theme’s other template files.

A simple code example for a custom field named “test_field” might look like the following:

 $test_field_value = get_post_meta( get_the_ID(), 'test_field', true ); echo $test_field_value;

Contributors and developers

“Flexible Posts Widget” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

DaveE

Free Version

WPS

6.79

Average

Ratings

4.6 out of 5 | 57

Version

3.5.0

Last updated

8 years ago

Active installations

8,000+

WordPress version

4.7.33 or higher

PHP version

or higher

Languages

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Flexible Posts Widget Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

To use a custom HTML output template

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (57)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (0)

WPS

6.79

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