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WP Popular Posts

By Hector Cabrera

Content Management / Blog & Article Publishing

WP Popular Posts Review - In-Depth Analysis

WP Popular Posts is a customizable plugin that displays your most popular posts. It supports multiple lists, time ranges, and custom layouts.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.27/10

User Rating

4.5/5 (based on 248+ reviews)

Active Installations

100,000+

Update Frequency

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

Security Score

5.53 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

WP Popular Posts is a highly customizable plugin that displays your most popular posts. You can create multiple popular posts lists on your blog, each with its own settings. The plugin allows you to list posts based on specific time ranges, such as the last 24 hours or the last 30 days.

It supports custom post types, so you can showcase popular products or other content types. The plugin also includes features like thumbnail display, a statistics dashboard, and sorting options based on comments or views. You can style your popular posts list using built-in themes or customize the layout to fit your needs.

WP Popular Posts is compatible with Elementor and supports shortcodes for easy embedding. It also offers REST API support, allowing integration with web applications. The plugin works well with multilingual setups and is designed to support WordPress Multisite installations.

Comparing to Alternatives

WP Popular Posts is a straightforward plugin for displaying popular posts but faces stiff competition from similar plugins offering varied features.

Top alternatives

Top 10 ( WPS: 6.96)
WP Show Posts ( WPS: 6.48)
Smart Recent Posts Widget ( WPS: 6.78)
Superb Recent Posts With Thumbnail Images ( WPS: 6.78)

Strengths

Simple to use and set up.
Integrates well with page builders like Elementor via REST API.
Provides a clean and elegant way to showcase popular posts.

Weaknesses

Lacks CSS customization options without manual code edits.
Not optimized for cached sites, causing performance issues.
No active development or updates leading to compatibility problems.
Limited features compared to some alternatives.

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback reveals a mix of appreciation for ease of use and concerns about technical limitations and lack of updates.

Positive highlights

'Simple plugin. Does what it says.' - smkstoll
'Works good with Elementor!' - kspr
'Highly recommended for its simplicity and elegance.' - D
'Great support helped resolve initial issues quickly.' - seegeist

Common complaints

Plugin stops working on some sites.
No CSS customization option without coding.
Performance issues on cached sites.
Lack of recent updates and maintenance.

Weaknesses

Incompatibility with caching systems like Nginx/WP Rocket.
Abandoned by developers leading to reliability concerns.
Difficult to style without advanced modifications.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a simple, no-frills plugin to display popular posts, especially those comfortable with basic setups or using page builders like Elementor.

Not ideal for

Sites relying heavily on caching for performance or users needing extensive customization and active plugin support.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers basic functionality to display popular posts with simple setup and integration options.

Final Verdict

WP Popular Posts is a straightforward and easy-to-use plugin that effectively displays popular posts with minimal setup, making it suitable for users valuing simplicity.

However, its lack of updates, poor compatibility with caching systems, and limited customization options make it less ideal for sites requiring advanced features or optimized performance.