Latest Posts

78 Quality Score

Active Installs

17/30

Popularity scores 55/30 because, with roughly 5,000 active installs and 7 ratings, the plugin has a modest footprint compared to larger competitors in the posts-display space.

Update Freshness

25/25

Maintenance is perfect at 100/25, with a recent update on 2026-04-02 confirming the developer is actively keeping the code current.

User Rating

14/15

User ratings land at 92/15, and although only 7 users have weighed in, the average is strong enough to suggest consistent satisfaction.

Support Health

8/15

Support health is 50/15, with zero threads opened and zero resolved, meaning there is not enough signal to confirm the author's responsiveness.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Compatibility scores 100/15, tested up to WordPress 6.9.4 and requiring only WordPress 4.0 or higher, so it should run cleanly on essentially any modern site.

Scores higher than 63% of indexed plugins

About

Latest posts widget to display recent posts from category.

Active Installs 5k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.6/5

Last Updated 2026-04-02 2:06pm GMT

Requires WordPress 4.0+

Tested Up To 6.9.7

✓ No known vulnerabilities

What It Does

Latest Posts is a sidebar widget that surfaces recent posts, with the option to filter by category, so visitors can see fresh content without leaving the page they are on. It supports post thumbnails, making the widget visually richer than a plain text list. In practice, you drop it into a widget area, optionally pick a category, and it displays the latest matching entries automatically.

Who It's For

This is a good fit for bloggers, news sites, and local directories that want a low-maintenance way to highlight recently published content in a sidebar or footer widget area. It works well for sites with one or a few primary categories where a filtered recent-posts list adds real navigation value. Non-technical site owners who just need a reliable, set-and-forget recent posts display will find it appealing.

Who Should Skip It

If you run a large multi-author publication or need a customizable, query-driven post grid with pagination, custom layouts, or block-editor support, this widget is too basic for the job. Sites that already use a full-featured page builder or a theme that ships with a recent posts block or widget have no reason to install another plugin for the same purpose.

The Bottom Line

Latest Posts delivers exactly what its name promises: a simple, well-maintained widget for showing recent posts by category, and it scores a solid 77.87/100 overall. The biggest caveat is the small install base (5,000) and the lack of any support-thread history, so if you anticipate needing responsive developer support, that is a real gap. For a straightforward, lightweight recent-posts widget on a small to mid-sized site, it is a reasonable, low-risk choice.

Related Plugins

Quick Featured Images 83/100

Pick this if your priority is setting or generating featured images in bulk rather than displaying recent posts.

Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 80/100

Choose this when you need automatic featured images generated from the first image in a post, not a recent-posts listing.

Flex Posts - Responsive Posts Block 78/100

Opt for Flex Posts when you want a block-editor friendly, highly customizable post grid or list with multiple layout options.

WP Categories Widget 78/100

Pick this if your main need is a navigable list of categories rather than a feed of recent posts.

Regenerate Thumbnails 78/100

Use this when you need to regenerate thumbnail sizes across your media library, which pairs well with any posts widget once images look right.