Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026
Recent Posts Widget Plus
Active installs500+ rounded
Current authorJohan van der Wijk
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release2.5 years ago 30 Oct 2023
Support— no recent threads
Releases on record11
Rating5.0 /5 · 1
Added to directory26 Jun 2012
Requires WP2.9.3
Requires PHPfalse
Version lag0.7 behind
Tested up toWP 6.4.10 WordPress is now on 7.1
PluginPedia reports published data and observable changes. It does not rate plugin quality or safety, infer intent, or make recommendations. These are observations rather than a verdict. How this works
Ownership
Held by Johan van der Wijk throughout, with no change of ownership observed since daily tracking began on 02 Aug 2026.
Full observed history, including every field transition
Committing accounts
Read from the plugin’s public release log, so these predate this registry. A committing account is not an owner. Thirty accounts commit to WooCommerce and it has never changed hands.
| Account | Releases | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| vanderwijk | 11 | 10 Jan 2015 | 30 Oct 2023 |
This registry did not observe a transfer; it read these names off a public log. Whether that reflects a change of ownership is not something the directory publishes.
Adoption
How widely the plugin is installed, and what the people running it think of it. WordPress.org rounds install figures to one significant digit, so they describe an order of magnitude rather than a headcount.
Small but established: 500+ active installs. Enough sites to show it works in the wild, too few for adoption to say much on its own.
5 downloads a day over the last 7 days, rising 50% against the 7 days before. Downloads are counted exactly and without a ceiling, so they show movement the rounded install figure cannot.
08 Aug 2026peak 11/day28 Aug 2026
Daily record
Every field we record, one column per observation. Fields that never moved are named once rather than repeated across every column. A row of identical numbers would be padding.
| Field | 15 Aug | 16 Aug | 17 Aug | 18 Aug | 19 Aug | 20 Aug | 21 Aug | 22 Aug | 23 Aug | 24 Aug | 25 Aug | 26 Aug | 27 Aug | 28 Aug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads that day | — | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Unchanged throughout: ratings total (1) · active installs (500+) · version (1.2.1) · support threads (0) · threads resolved (0)
27 days of observation, most recent 14 shown.
Maintenance
When it was last released, and how far its declared compatibility has drifted from current WordPress.
Added to directory14 years ago 26 Jun 2012
Requires WP2.9.3
Requires PHPfalse
Version lag0.7 behind
Is anyone still maintaining this?
- No release in 1,033 days (2.8 years). The last was 30 Oct 2023.
- Declares compatibility only up to WordPress 6.4.10, while 7.1 is current. The author has not confirmed it runs on the last 7 releases.
- The same account maintains 3 other plugins, 1 of which was updated in the last 90 days. the account is active.
A plugin that does one thing correctly may need no changes for years; a long gap is not, by itself, evidence of neglect.
History
Everything dated that this registry holds about the plugin, most recent first. Releases carry the author’s own release date; everything else is dated to when it was observed.
Entries marked from the release log predate this registry, and daily observation began 02 Aug 2026. They were read from the plugin’s public SVN history after the fact, not watched as they happened. Everything else was observed directly.
- 02 Aug 202626 days agoFirst observed by PluginPediaDaily snapshots of this plugin’s directory record begin here. Everything above this line is observed; anything before it comes from fields the API itself reports.
- 22 Apr 202516 months agoDormancy threshold crossed540 days since the last release (2023-10-30). Dormancy is a maintenance observation, not a judgement about the owner.
- 30 Oct 20232.5 years agoVersion 1.2.1 released
- 21 Mar 20233 years agoVersion 1.2.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 09 May 20224 years agoVersion 1.1.8 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 09 May 20224 years agoVersion 1.1.9 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 12 Jul 20215 years agoVersion 1.1.7 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 10 Mar 20215.5 years agoVersion 1.5.6 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 17 Sep 20205.5 years agoVersion 1.1.5 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 06 Apr 20206 years agoVersion 1.1.4 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 17 Jan 20206.5 years agoVersion 1.1.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 17 Jan 20206.5 years agoVersion 1.1.3 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 10 Jan 201511 years agoVersion 1.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanderwijk.
- 26 Jun 201214 years agoAdded to the WordPress.org directoryReported by the plugin API as the date this plugin was added.
What we know, and what we don’t
Everything on this page in one place, including the gaps, so that nothing here is mistaken for a clean bill of health.
What we know
- It has been held by Johan van der Wijk for all 27 days we have observed it.
- It was last released 2.5 years ago (30 Oct 2023).
- Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 6.4.10; WordPress is now on 7.1.
- WordPress.org reports 500+ active installs.
- It carries 1 rating, averaging 5.0 out of 5.
What we don’t know yet
- No forum threads were open in the two months we measure, so how responsive its support is cannot be said. One new thread starts answering that.
What can’t be known
- Whether the quiet is neglect or a finished plugin. That is the author’s intent, which no dataset records, and a stable plugin can need no changes for years.
Every record on this site, this one included, works under the same limits. We read what WordPress.org publishes about a plugin, never the plugin’s own code, so nothing here says whether a plugin is well built or safe. Install counts reach us already rounded; a change smaller than a band step doesn’t show. We don’t track security advisories yet. For anything older than our first observation we rely on the plugin’s public release log, where one exists. What this registry can and cannot see
Similar plugins
This plugin has not been updated in a long time. These carry the same tags and describe themselves in the same terms, so they are a starting point for a replacement, not a recommendation. Check them yourself.
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails
List the most recent posts with post titles, thumbnails, excerpts, authors, categories, dates and more!
100,000+ installs4.8★ (212)updated 18 Aug 2026
200× the installs
Compare side by side Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager
Flexible sidebars for custom classic widget configurations on any page or post. Create custom sidebars with ease!
100,000+ installs4.7★ (1,028)updated 16 Aug 2026
200× the installs
Compare side by side Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin
Display new sidebars on any post, page, category etc. Works with Classic Widgets, Block Widgets, and all themes!
30,000+ installs4.9★ (724)updated 09 Dec 2025
60× the installs
Compare side by side SMK Sidebar Generator
Create unlimited custom sidebars and widget areas. Display different sidebars on specific pages, posts, or custom post types with conditional logic.
10,000+ installs4.4★ (5)updated 17 Feb 2026
20× the installs
Compare side by side Recent CPT Widget Thumbnails
This plugin allows you to display the most recent posts with an excerpt in a WordPress sidebar widget area.
fewer than 10 installs5.0★ (1)updated 17 Jul 2026
Compare side by side Advanced Excerpt
Control the appearance of WordPress post excerpts
80,000+ installs4.3★ (101)updated 01 Aug 2026
160× the installs
Compare side by side Grouped from the tags each author chose for their own plugin, so the grouping is only as good as those tags.
Reach out about this record
Corrections, missing context, or anything else about Recent Posts Widget Plus: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.