/ Plugin Category

/ Content Management

/ Blog & Article Publishing

/ WP-PostViews

WP-PostViews

By Lester Chan

Content Management / Blog & Article Publishing

WP-PostViews Review - In-Depth Analysis

WP-PostViews allows you to display the view count of your posts and pages. It offers easy integration with shortcodes and template tags.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.02/10

User Rating

4.4/5 (based on 65+ reviews)

Active Installations

100,000+

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

WP-PostViews is a powerful plugin that enables you to display how many times a post or page has been viewed. This feature can enhance user engagement by showing the popularity of your content.

To use the plugin, simply add the provided template tag or shortcode to your theme files or posts. You can customize the display settings from the admin dashboard under the PostViews settings.

This plugin supports multisite network activation, making it a great choice for users managing multiple sites. Regular updates ensure compatibility with the latest WordPress versions and features.

Comparing to Alternatives

WP-PostViews is a simple plugin focused on displaying post view counts. Compared to other similar plugins, it offers basic functionality without advanced features.

Top alternatives

WP-PostViews

Strengths

Lightweight and easy to use.
Allows counting views from guests only.
Excludes bots from view counts.

Weaknesses

Lacks unique visitor tracking by IP.
Compatibility issues with recent WordPress versions.
No integration with popular page builders like Elementor.
Limited customization options.

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights both the plugin's simplicity and some compatibility challenges.

Positive highlights

"This is the Plugin that I was looking for. Thanks a lot!" - Ahmed Faruk
"Very useful little plugin." - douggeeks
Settings to exclude bots and count guest views work well. - KR. Laboratories

Common complaints

Does not work with WordPress 6.5.2 - sergio.pinna.prato
Incompatibility with some themes like Corpo - Beulahland83
Stopped updating views when used with Advanced Queries and Elementor - whitelabelcroydon

Weaknesses

Counts multiple refreshes as separate views, lacking unique visitor tracking.
No recent updates to address compatibility issues.
Limited support for modern WordPress features.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a straightforward and lightweight plugin to display basic post view counts without advanced tracking needs.

Not ideal for

Sites requiring accurate unique visitor counts, compatibility with the latest WordPress versions, or integration with page builders like Elementor.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers basic post view counting with options to exclude bots and count guest views only.

Final Verdict

WP-PostViews provides a simple solution for displaying post views but lacks advanced features and has compatibility issues with recent WordPress versions.

It is suitable for users needing basic functionality but may not meet the needs of those requiring unique visitor tracking or integration with modern themes and page builders.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free WP-PostViews plugin.

Post views

View counter

Postviews

Screenshots

FAQ

Go to WP-Admin -> Appearance -> Widgets
The widget name is Views.

<?php if (function_exists('get_least_viewed')): ?>     <ul>         <?php get_least_viewed(); ?>     </ul> <?php endif; ?>

The first value you pass in is the post type that you want. If you want to get every post types, just use ‘both’. It also supports PHP array: example array('post', 'page').
The second value you pass in is the maximum number of post you want to get.
Default: get_least_viewed(‘both’, 10);

<?php if (function_exists('get_most_viewed')): ?>     <ul>         <?php get_most_viewed(); ?>     </ul> <?php endif; ?>

The first value you pass in is the post type that you want. If you want to get every post types, just use ‘both’. It also supports PHP array: example array('post', 'page').
The second value you pass in is the maximum number of post you want to get.
Default: get_most_viewed(‘both’, 10);

<?php if (function_exists('get_least_viewed_tag')): ?>     <ul>         <?php get_least_viewed_tag(); ?>     </ul> <?php endif; ?>

The first value you pass in is the tag id.
The second value you pass in is the post type that you want. If you want to get every post types, just use ‘both’. It also supports PHP array: example array('post', 'page').
The third value you pass in is the maximum number of post you want to get.
Default: get_least_viewed_tag(1, ‘both’, 10);

<?php if (function_exists('get_most_viewed_tag')): ?>     <ul>         <?php get_most_viewed_tag(); ?>     </ul> <?php endif; ?>

The first value you pass in is the tag id.
The second value you pass in is the post type that you want. If you want to get every post types, just use ‘both’. It also supports PHP array: example array('post', 'page').
The third value you pass in is the maximum number of post you want to get.
Default: get_most_viewed_tag(1, ‘both’, 10);

<?php if (function_exists('get_least_viewed_category')): ?>     <ul>         <?php get_least_viewed_category(); ?>     </ul> <?php endif; ?>

The first value you pass in is the category id.
The second value you pass in is the post type that you want. If you want to get every post types, just use ‘both’. It also supports PHP array: example array('post', 'page').
The third value you pass in is the maximum number of post you want to get.
Default: get_least_viewed_category(1, ‘both’, 10);

<?php if (function_exists('get_most_viewed_category')): ?>     <ul>         <?php get_most_viewed_category(); ?>     </ul> <?php endif; ?>

The first value you pass in is the category id.
The second value you pass in is the post type that you want. If you want to get every post types, just use ‘both’. It also supports PHP array: example array('post', 'page').
The third value you pass in is the maximum number of post you want to get.
Default: get_most_viewed_category(1, ‘both’, 10);

Use: <div id="postviews_lscwp"></div> to replace <?php if(function_exists('the_views')) { the_views(); } ?>.
NOTE: The id can be changed, but the div id and the script must match.

The plugin’s js/wp-postviews-cache.js already posts the view and receives the new count back, so you only need to write that count into your div. Add this to your theme, or to a small script of your own enqueued after wp-postviews-cache:

document.addEventListener( 'postviews:updated', function ( event ) {     const target = document.getElementById( 'postviews_lscwp' );      if ( target ) {         target.textContent = event.detail.views + ' views';     } } );

Purge the cache to use the updated pages.