/ Plugin Category

/ Site Administration & Utilities

/ Site Health & Diagnostics

/ Taxonomy List Widget

Taxonomy List Widget

By Erick Hitter

Site Administration & Utilities / Site Health & Diagnostics

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

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

Taxonomy List Widget Review - In-Depth Analysis

Create customizable lists of non-hierarchical taxonomies like tags. Supports multiple widgets with various formatting options.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.83/10

User Rating

4.3/5 (based on 12+ reviews)

Active Installations

1,000+

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

This plugin creates lists of non-hierarchical taxonomies, such as post tags, as an alternative to term clouds. Users can utilize multiple widgets, each with its own configuration options.

It offers numerous formatting features, including the ability to set maximum term numbers, order terms, and truncate term names. The list styles are fully customizable, with built-in support for both bulleted and numbered lists.

Additionally, the taxonomy_list_widget function allows users to generate lists for use outside of the included widget.

Note that this plugin should only be used with version 1.2 or higher alongside WordPress 4.2 and later releases, as changes in WordPress 4.2 affect how taxonomy information is stored in the database, impacting the plugin's functionality.

This plugin was previously known as the Tag List Widget and has been completely rewritten for version 1.0.

Comparing to Alternatives

Taxonomy List Widget offers a straightforward way to display tags in a sidebar, but there are several other plugins that provide similar or enhanced taxonomy display features.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Simple and neat interface for displaying tags
Allows inclusion and exclusion of specific tags
Works well with popular themes like GP Theme
No known security vulnerabilities
Lightweight with no pro version complexity

Weaknesses

Limited to displaying tags only, no support for other taxonomies
Some users report the widget does not appear or work with certain themes
Mobile friendliness issues reported by some users
No advanced filtering or customization options available

User Sentiment Analysis

With a strong majority of 5-star reviews and a few critical ones, users generally appreciate the plugin's simplicity and functionality, though some experience compatibility issues.

Positive highlights

"Very neat!" — gmj
"Good plugin that works. Issues with Mobile Friendliness though" — waleedkrashid
"Works great" — zinkab
"Works fine with version 5.8.2 Widget appears as expected" — janelwashere

Common complaints

Plugin does not work or appear in sidebar for some users (troyw2015)
Only supports tags, no option to choose other taxonomies (mgstudio)

Weaknesses

Limited taxonomy selection to tags only
Compatibility issues with some themes causing widget not to display
Reported mobile friendliness problems affecting Google Console scores

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who want a simple, lightweight widget to display tags in their sidebar without needing advanced taxonomy options or customization.

Not ideal for

Users needing support for multiple taxonomies beyond tags, those requiring advanced filtering, or users facing theme compatibility issues should consider alternatives.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version provides basic functionality to display tags in a sidebar with inclusion and exclusion options.

Final Verdict

Taxonomy List Widget is a straightforward and effective solution for displaying tags in a sidebar, favored by most users for its simplicity and reliability. It has no known security vulnerabilities and integrates well with popular themes, although some users report compatibility and mobile friendliness issues.

While it lacks support for other taxonomies and advanced features, it remains a solid choice for those needing a basic tag display widget. Users requiring more flexibility or encountering issues may want to explore the available alternatives.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Taxonomy List Widget plugin.

taxonomy list

tag widget

customizable lists

FAQ

Since I first wrote the Tag Dropdown Widget plugin upon which this plugin is based (in November 2009), WordPress introduced custom taxonomies and, as more-fully discussed below, saw a new widgets API overtake its predecessor. As part of the widgets-API-related rewrite, I expanded the plugin to support non-hierarchical custom taxonomies, which necessitated a new name for the plugin.

Insert the function <?php if( function_exists( 'taxonomy_list_widget' ) ) echo taxonomy_list_widget( $args, $id ); ?> where the list should appear, specifying $args as an array of arguments and, optionally, $id as a string uniquely identifying this list.

taxonomy – slug of taxonomy for list. Defaults to post_tag.
select_name – name of first (default) option in the list. Defaults to Select Tag.
max_name_length – integer representing maximum length of term name to display. Set to 0 to show full names. Defaults to 0.
cutoff – string indicating that a term name has been cutoff based on the max_name_length setting. Defaults to an ellipsis (…).
limit – integer specifying maximum number of terms to retrieve. Set to 0 for no limit. Defaults to 0.
orderby – either name to order by term name or count to order by the number of posts associated with the given term. Defaults to name.
order – either ASC for ascending order or DESC for descending order. Defaults to ASC.
threshold – integer specifying the minimum number of posts to which a term must be assigned to be included in the list. Set to 0 for now threshold. Defaults to 0.
incexc – include or exclude to either include or exclude the terms whose IDs are included in incexc_ids. By default, this restriction is not enabled.
incexc_ids – comma-separated list of term IDs to either include or exclude based on the incexc setting.
hide_empty – set to false to include in the list any terms that haven’t been assigned to any objects (i.e. unused tags). Defaults to true.
post_counts – set to true to include post counts after term names. Defaults to false.
delimiter – sets list style. Native options are ul, ol, and nl for bulleted list, numbered list, and line breaks, respectively. By passing an array with keys before_list, after_list, before_item, and after_item, you can completely customize the list style.
rel – either dofollow or nofollow. Can still use taxonomy_list_widget_link_rel filter to specify link relationship.