Title: Ultimate Posts Widget
Author: cl272
Published: <strong>July 10, 2012</strong>
Last modified: July 17, 2024

---

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![](https://ps.w.org/ultimate-posts-widget/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=960451)

This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.

![](https://s.w.org/plugins/geopattern-icon/ultimate-posts-widget_5b9f2b.svg)

# Ultimate Posts Widget

 By [cl272](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cl272/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget.2.3.2.zip)

 * [Details](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/#installation)
 * [Development](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/)

## Description

**Try it out on your free dummy site: Click here => [https://tastewp.com/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget](https://demo.tastewp.com/ultimate-posts-widget).**
(
this trick works for all plugins in the WP repo – just replace “wordpress” with “
tastewp” in the URL)

UPDATE: Plugin ownership changed for this plugin. We are currently evaluating possible
enhancements for it. Stay tuned! If you have any suggestions yourself, please let
us know in the Support Forum.

Note: This is a **classic widget** type, in order for it to work on the latest version
of WordPress you will need [Classic Widgets](https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-widgets/)
plugin installed on your site.

The ultimate widget for displaying posts, custom post types or sticky posts with
an array of options to customize the display.

Designed for both the average user and developer, Ultimate Posts Widgets aims to
provide flexibility and ease of use for displaying any kinds of posts within your
widget areas. An array of widget options are available as well as hooks, filters
and custom templates for more advanced customization.

#### Options

 * Filter by categories
 * Filter by current category
 * Filter by tags
 * Filter by current tag
 * Filter by custom post types
 * Filter by sticky posts
 * Select number of posts to display
 * Display title
 * Display publish date/time with custom format options
 * Display post author and link
 * Display post comment count
 * Display excerpt or full content
 * Display read more link with custom label
 * Display featured image and at any size
 * Display post categories
 * Display post tags
 * Display custom fields
 * Add text or HTML before and after posts list
 * Add CSS class to widget
 * Add widget title link
 * Change excerpt length (in words)
 * Order by date, title, number of comments, random or a custom field
 * Exclude current post from the list

#### Documentation

See the [FAQ tab](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/faq/) for 
documentation on custom templates, hooks, common issues, and more.

#### Support

For help please ask in the [Support Forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/)

Enjoy this plugin? [Send a tip to support development](https://sellcodes.com/5U4SICyc).

This plugin is part of the Inisev product family – [check out our other products](https://inisev.com).

## Screenshots

 * [[
 * Example with TwentyTwelve theme with the default widget options
 * [[
 * General options tab
 * [[
 * Display options tab
 * [[
 * Filter options tab
 * [[
 * Order options tab

## Installation

 1. Download and extract the zip archive
 2. Upload `ultimate-posts-widget` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`
 3. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
 4. Add the widget to a sidebar and configure the options as desired

## FAQ

### Filters

**upw_enqueue_styles** _(boolean)_
 Allows changing whether to load the template
CSS file(s).

**upw_wp_query_args** _(array)_
 Allows changing the WP_Query arguments for the 
widget.

**upw_custom_template_path** _(string)_
 Allows changing the default custom template
path.

### Templates

**legacy**
 As of version 2.0.0 we changed the widget HTML markup. For installs 
prior to 2.0.0 you can use the legacy template to retain the old HTML markup and
compatibility.

**standard**
 The new standard template as of version 2.0.0. It features better 
HTML5 markup, improved styling on various themes without the need for custom CSS,
and hfeed microformat.

**custom**
 As of version 2.0.0 you can now provide your own custom template files.
To do this, create a directory named `upw` in your theme and copy a template from
the plugin’s `templates` directory. Edit as needed.

Then, in the widget settings under the _Display_ tab, choose _Custom_ from the _Template_
drop down. In the _Custom Template Name_ field that appears and enter the file name
of your template (excluding .php). For example, if your template is named `custom.
php` then enter `custom` in the _Custom Template Name_ field.

### Images sizes

_As of version 2.0.0, the plugin no longer supports setting custom image sizes from
the widget options panel._

To change image sizes you can either edit the built-in sizes (thumbnail, medium,
and large) or define a custom image size in your theme `functions.php`.

**Edit built-in image sizes:** Go to _Settings > Media_ and change the image sizes
as desired. Once image sizes are changed you will need to regenerate thumbnails 
to update any existing images. This can be done with [AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ajax-thumbnail-rebuild/)
or [Regenerate Thumbnails](https://wordpress.org/plugins/regenerate-thumbnails/)
plugins. Note that this will affect image sizes for the entire site.

**Define a custom image size:** Edit your `functions.php` file and add a new image
size with the `add_image_size` function. See the [WordPress codex for documentation](https://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/add_image_size).
Once the function is added, your custom size will be available to select from the
widget options. Like editing a built-in size, you will need to regenerate thumbnails
for existing images.

Example:

    ```
    <?php add_image_size( 'my-custom-size', 800, 600, false ); ?>
    ```

### Thumbnail images are not displaying

_As of version 2.0.0 timthumb is no longer used._

This plugin uses the [timthumb library](http://www.binarymoon.co.uk/projects/timthumb/)
to resize post thumbnails. Please review these requirements and troubleshooting 
tips if you are having problems displaying thumbnails.

 * Right click > view image – If an image isn’t loading then this is the first thing
   you should do. 9 times out of 10 it will tell you what the problem is in an easy
   to read error message.
 * JetPack plugin – There is a known conflict between JetPack’s “Photon” component,
   please disable it for compatibility with timthumb.
 * Server requirements – PHP and the GD image library must be installed on your 
   web server. Normally most web servers include them by default.
 * Cache permissions – The cache directory `wp-content/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/
   cache` should be set to 777 or if that doesn’t work, you may find 755 is ok.
 * Image sizes – timthumb is configured to only work for images smaller than 1500
   x 1500. The plugin and automatically selects the “Large” size from Settings >
   Media, if it is greater than 1500 x 1500 you will need to reduce the size or 
   modify the configuration in `thumb.php` to support larger image sizes.
 * Tilde(~) in url – timthumb has a known issue with this, please use a url without
   a tilde until a fix is available. [Bug report](https://code.google.com/p/timthumb/issues/detail?id=263)
 * Thumbnail images only work with WordPress’ native post thumbnail / featured image.
   Many theme use a custom image field for thumbnails, these are not supported.

**Still stuck?** See [additional troubleshooting tips](http://www.binarymoon.co.uk/2010/11/timthumb-hints-tips/)
from the timthumb author.

## Reviews

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8075a4e73d0cef1cdb3c491bd6deeade182ce87d0973cdb2b961054527da4383?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Spam address harvester](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/spam-address-harvester/)󠁿

 [ChrisL](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrslcy/) November 28, 2022

This plugin recently became a spam address harvester, sending automated emails to
registered users asking them to ‘confirm their address’. Don’t install.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6c83ea2af862d9829e5e0a12a5a15fa75e0c5bb3805a0176c71d593028b0a771?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Great stuff, output looks stellar, minor saving glitch](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-stuff-output-looks-stellar-minor-saving-glitch/)󠁿

 [deadweasel](https://profiles.wordpress.org/deadweasel/) May 22, 2020

Really love this widget, looks great on my sidebar, once it’s configured. However,
that configuration is a bit of a gotcha, as the visibility settings keep reverting
to defaults with everything enabled (I only need the titles visible), so any time
I change another tab’s settings, I also have to go to the Visibility tab and turn
the default stuff back off again as well. It’s like the plugin isn’t reading the
current visibility settings, and simply shows its own default selections whenever
it loads its view, so that’s what gets submitted on save if you don’t go back in
and set them right again.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f418d46643aeda715c1eb8f7805fcd0e87ea63bdd7f6cc675e5b23c0d5a4fa0d?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Didn’t work for me.](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/didnt-work-for-me-118/)󠁿

 [Bobthearch](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bobthearch/) April 25, 2018

This didn’t work at all for me. The Display, Filter, and Order tabs were not clickable,
leaving no way to tell it which post(s) to use.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c5a9741995e03f0e3d21212145317bcdfb09686e00f86e4c5f17934b3e3e3acc?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Awesome plugin, but not compatible with Divi Sidebar Module](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/awesome-plugin-but-not-compatible-with-divi-sidebar-module/)󠁿

 [Rick](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rbannerman/) February 6, 2018

This is an awesome plugin. It causes issues if you are using the widget on a Divi
Sidebar module, it puts part of the sidebar code into the wp-admin dashboard on 
any pages with that module and widget on it. Unfortunately, I can’t change themes,
so I couldn’t use, but overall this is a great plugin with lots of options.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2df72bc42ac63cef2cf4bbfcacd42ee7635c85013eee22e288db45e9159d1328?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Instant gratification](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/instant-gratification/)󠁿

 [Joona Nuutinen](https://profiles.wordpress.org/c2162/) April 10, 2017

Installed to create a simple list of custom post type posts, and BOOM, worked just
as I hoped.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1b01fba51f81c4c60ec14ed9b3367effbea3912d5cb46070919d2ac0db69de4d?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[shortcode](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/shortcode-501/)󠁿

 [milani](https://profiles.wordpress.org/pouria93/) April 6, 2017

Thanks for your great plugin Doesn’t your plugin have shortcode? I think, that would
be great if you put shortcode for your plugin.

 [ Read all 56 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/)

## Contributors & Developers

“Ultimate Posts Widget” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ cl272 ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cl272/)

“Ultimate Posts Widget” has been translated into 3 locales. Thank you to [the translators](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/contributors)
for their contributions.

[Translate “Ultimate Posts Widget” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/ultimate-posts-widget)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ultimate-posts-widget/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/ultimate-posts-widget/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ultimate-posts-widget/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ultimate-posts-widget/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 2.3.2

 * Tested with WordPress 6.6
 * Minor performance improvements
 * Improvements for PHP 8 utilization

#### 2.3.1

 * [NOTE] Adjusted sanitization for widget fields even further
 * [NOTE] Tested up with WordPress 6.4.3

#### 2.3.0

 * [NOTE] Upgraded analyst module to latest version
 * [NOTE] Improved sanitization of widget fields
 * [NOTE] Tested up with WordPress 6.4.2

#### 2.2.9

 * Resolved issue related to “exclude_current” missing index
 * Updated “Try it out” module

#### 2.2.8

 * Fixed incorrect calls to plugins_url
 * Updated banner module
 * Updated opt-in module
 * Tested with WordPress 6.4
 * Resolved issues with PHP 8.2

#### 2.2.7

 * Forced “Try it out” module to be disabled by default, user can still enable it
   manually.

#### 2.2.6

 * Tested with WP 6.3 RC
 * Updated all shared modules to their latest versions

#### 2.2.5

 * Tested with WordPress 6.2
 * Adjusted old database versions compatibility
 * Updated carrousel module

#### 2.2.4

 * Adjusted PHP compatibility

#### 2.2.3

 * Added try it out module

#### 2.2.2

 * Tested up to WordPress 6.1-RC5
 * Adjusted carrousel module
 * Updated try it out URL in readme to properly setup demo site

#### 2.2.1

 * Tested up to WordPress 6.0
 * Tested with PHP 8.1

#### 2.2.0

 * Tested up to WordPress 5.7.1
 * Added support for PHP 8
 * Updated banner

#### 2.1.6

 * Tested up to WordPress 5.4.2
 * Updated Opt-in

#### 2.1.5

 * Tested up to WordPress 5.4.1
 * Changed info

#### 2.1.4

 * Plugin has been updated up to WordPress 5.4

#### 2.1.3

 * Hotfixed issue

#### 2.1.2

 * Serval improvements

#### 2.1.1

 * Added possibility to exclude current post from the list
 * Tested update WordPress 5.3.3 (beta)+

#### 2.1.0

 * Added possibility for changing custom message when no posts.
 * Increased stability of the plugin
 * Fixed filtering
 * Tested update WordPress 5.3.2+

#### 2.0.9

 * Replaced deprecated code

#### 2.0.8

 * Plugin revival
 * Feedback system integrated
 * Readme updated

#### 2.0.7

 * Tested update WordPress 4.8

#### 2.0.6

 * Fix PHP notice (thanks @rhyswynne)
 * Search custom template both in child theme and in parent (thanks @groucho75)

#### 2.0.5

 * Adds menu order sort by option

#### 2.0.4

 * Updated class constructor for WordPress 4.3 compatibility (thanks @JustB)

#### 2.0.3

 * Adds link to thumbnail images
 * Adds option to show all categories, tags, or types for better usability
 * Improve spacing and font sizes on some themes for the standard template
 * Document adding custom image sizes
 * Add option to display full size post thumbnail
 * Remove post_class() from legacy template for better backwards compatibility

#### 2.0.2

 * Reverts back to using `widget_title` filter
 * Fixes number of posts setting to allow unlimited amounts
 * Adds instance and widget ID variables to filters for more control

#### 2.0.1

 * Fixes issue loading multiple widgets on the same page and using the same template
 * Adds a default title to the widget for new instances
 * Documentation improvements

#### 2.0.0

 * Added a new standard template and custom template support
 * Added basic CSS styles for better formatting
 * Add hfeed microformat into new standard template
 * Improved widget options interface
 * Add option to filter by tags or current tag
 * Remove timthumb in favor of using built-in WordPress image sizes
 * Remove widget “More Button” options
 * Change date display options to now accept any custom date formats
 * Add before and after posts HTML fields
 * Add option for widget CSS class (thanks @avenirer)
 * Add option to display comment count
 * Set better defaults for newly created widgets
 * Various bug fixes and optimizations

_Upgrading from an earlier version?_

 * Upgrades from prior to 2.0.0 we retain the “legacy” template for you. To change
   which template to use, find the “Template” option under the “Display” tab.
 * If you used the “More Button”, you will need to add in your own HTML into one
   of the new fields since the more button is now removed.
 * If you used custom thumbnail settings you will need to update them. You can now
   choose from pre-defined sizes available to WordPress. If you need an additional
   image size please see [how to add image sizes](https://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/add_image_size).
 * Date formatting has changed, you will need to update your settings. By default
   it uses WordPress’ date/time options.

#### 1.9.0

 * Adds option to order by custom field (thanks @enekochan)
 * Remove “Permalink to:” from link titles (thanks @wirelessgizmo)
 * Swedish translation (thanks @brstp)

#### 1.8.1

 * Add content display option

#### 1.8

 * Add custom field display
 * Re-organized widget options
 * Use proper alt tag for image thumbnails
 * Better title attribute for links

#### 1.7

 * Added show author option
 * Added class to highlight current post
 * Fixed PHP error notices

#### 1.6

 * Added localization support
 * Added show post categories option
 * Added show post tags option
 * Added custom widget title URL option
 * Improved filter controls for sticky posts
 * Bug fixes

#### 1.5.1

 * Upgrade timthumb to 2.8.11
 * Load “Large” size post thumbnails which should eliminate large image errors
 * Improved FAQ for thumbnail troubleshooting

#### 1.5

 * Adds crop mode option
 * Add show published time option
 * Now uses date / time format settings
 * Bug fixes

#### 1.4.5

 * Updates screenshot

#### 1.4.4

 * Fixes show_readmore function
 * Adds more button link option

#### 1.4

 * Cleaner widget options
 * Code refactoring and fixes
 * Adds order by option

#### 1.3

 * Sticky posts only now optional

#### 1.2

 * Added post type filter option.
 * Code cleanup.
 * Better selection mechanism for categories.

#### 1.1

 * Added category filter option.

#### 1.0

 * First release.

## Meta

 *  Version **2.3.2**
 *  Last updated **2 years ago**
 *  Active installations **10,000+**
 *  WordPress version ** 3.5 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **6.6.5**
 *  Languages
 * [Dutch](https://nl.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/), [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/),
   [French (France)](https://fr.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/), and
   [Swedish](https://sv.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/).
 *  [Translate into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/ultimate-posts-widget)
 * Tags
 * [custom post types](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/custom-post-types/)
   [featured image](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/featured-image/)[recent posts](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/recent-posts/)
   [sticky posts](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/sticky-posts/)[widget](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/widget/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://scn.wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-posts-widget/advanced/)

## Ratings

 4.5 out of 5 stars.

 *  [  41 5-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/?filter=5)
 *  [  7 4-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/?filter=4)
 *  [  2 3-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/?filter=3)
 *  [  1 2-star review     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/?filter=2)
 *  [  4 1-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/?filter=1)

[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ cl272 ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cl272/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ultimate-posts-widget/)

## Donate

Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?

 [ Donate to this plugin ](https://sellcodes.com/5U4SICyc)