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Flexible Posts Widget

By DaveE

Site Administration & Utilities /

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

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

6.85/10

User Rating

4.7/5 (based on 56+ 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

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 solid post display solution with several competitors in the widget space, each with unique features and focuses.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Highly customizable post display options.
Easy to use with a straightforward interface.
Good visual appearance on sites as noted by users.
No known security vulnerabilities.
Strong overall user rating with majority 5-star reviews.

Weaknesses

Lacks display of post publishing dates, limiting information shown.
No option to select specific taxonomy terms, reducing filtering control.
Visual design is considered basic and could be improved.
Some issues with URI consistency between admin and subscriber views.

User Sentiment Analysis

The plugin enjoys a high overall rating with 91% of users giving it 4 or 5 stars, reflecting general satisfaction. However, about 7% of users report significant issues, highlighting some functional and design limitations.

Positive highlights

'Great options and easy to use! Looks great on the sites!' – GoddessNYC
'Easy & Lovely!' – GoddessNYC
'Works ok' – aljuk

Common complaints

Lack of post publishing date display.
No ability to select specific taxonomy terms for filtering.
Search engine indexing issues causing irrelevant post displays.
Plugin functionality issues such as missing selection boxes and inconsistent URI behavior.
Lack of support and updates leading to frustration.

Weaknesses

Limited visual design appeal.
Missing key filtering features like term selection.
Potential SEO issues due to widget output indexing.
Inconsistent behavior between user roles affecting usability.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a simple, easy-to-use widget to display posts with flexible options and who prioritize ease of use and basic customization.

Not ideal for

Those needing advanced filtering by taxonomy terms, detailed post metadata display, or requiring strong support and frequent updates may find this plugin lacking.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes a variety of flexible post display options with a user-friendly interface and no known security risks.

Final Verdict

Flexible Posts Widget is a well-rated plugin that offers a straightforward and flexible way to display posts in WordPress widgets. It stands out for its ease of use and lack of security vulnerabilities, making it a reliable choice for many users. However, it falls short in areas like advanced filtering, visual design, and support responsiveness, which may limit its appeal for more demanding users.

Considering the available alternatives that offer more features or better support, users should weigh their specific needs carefully. For those prioritizing simplicity and basic functionality without cost, this plugin is a solid option, but users needing more control or polish might explore other plugins listed as alternatives.

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;

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.

Contributors and developers

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

DaveE

Free Version

WPS

6.85

Average

Ratings

4.7 out of 5 | 56

Version

3.5.0

Last updated

8 years ago

Active installations

7,000+

WordPress version

4.7.38 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 (56)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (0)

Previous Versions

WPS

6.85

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