As a WordPress site owner, highlighting your most popular content keeps visitors engaged.
According to analytics provider Chartbeat, articles linked from popular posts see 38% higher click-through rates on average.
With that in mind, let‘s compare the top plugins for showcasing trending content this year.
Why Show Popular Posts?
Before highlighting the top plugins, let‘s overview the key reasons you should be displaying popular posts:
Keeps Visitors on Your Site Longer
Popular posts tend to resonate well and receive more engagement. By linking to these articles, you keep readers interested in related content:
[chart] | Metric | Popular Post Traffic | Non-Popular Post Traffic | Difference ||-|-|-|-|
| Avg. Session Duration | 3:12 minutes | 1:04 minutes | +208% |
| Pages per Session | 5.8 pages | 1.2 pages | +483% |
[/chart]
Helps Visitors Discover Your Best Content
Most site visitors never make it past your home and category pages. Popular posts provide shortcuts to articles your audience has deemed most useful.
Boosts Internal Linking for Better SEO
Linking between relevant content on your site signals search engines that pages have worthwhile information. Higher rankings can result in more organic traffic.
Now let‘s explore the top plugins for tapping into these benefits by displaying popular posts in WordPress.
1. MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is far and away the most powerful analytics integration on this list. Popular posts are driven from Google Analytics for true accuracy based on real user data.
I‘ve used MonsterInsights across over a dozen WordPress sites, and it‘s my top choice for popular post functionality.
Key Features
- Displays popular posts, pages and products by Google Analytics performance
- Optional inline popular posts mixed into content
- Multiple sidebar widgets and shortcode support
- Filter date range, categories and other criteria
- Advanced customization of styles, headlines and layouts
- Automatic updates keep latest trends shown
MonsterInsights taps directly into GA to showcase posts trending over customizable timeframes. Want to feature hot articles from the last month? Done.
The inline popular posts also give me options for mixing related trending content directly into my articles. This increases page depth and engages readers.
For example, I added an inline popular posts module to this very article highlighting my recent WordPress plugin tutorials. It updates automatically as the latest guides gain traction.
[Most Popular WordPress Plugin Tutorials]I can also add the traditional popular posts widgets anywhere a sidebar is available. The customization abilities here beat other plugins, with full control over color schemes, contained styling and block layouts.
While MonsterInsights isn‘t free, its reasonable $99/year pricing reflects the premium power within. For serious sites and accurate site analytics, it‘s the best plugin here.
When To Use MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is ideal if you:
- Run an established site needing accurate trending content
- Desire deep Google Analytics integration beyond popular posts
- Seek advanced and granular styling control
- Appreciate automatic background updates
2. Site Kit by Google
Site Kit delivers tight integration across multiple Google products – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, etc. Showing popular posts is just one piece of its broad capabilities.
The popular posts module taps directly into Google Analytics for the same accurate performance data as MonsterInsights. Configuration takes seconds with no manual upkeep needed.
Let‘s look at a few highlights:
Key Features
- Free popular posts automatically from Google Analytics
- Multiple widget styles – lists, grids, carousels
- Easy shortcode and block usage
- Other free tools: analytics, search data, ad activation
A main advantage of Site Kit is simplicity. Just install the plugin, connect Google Analytics, and activate the default popular posts widget.
Google handles tracking trends and updating the display as new articles gain steam. There‘s no manual selection or upkeep involved.
For most sites, set it and forget simplicity is fantastic. But advanced users may desire more control than Site Kit allows in its out-of-box state.
When To Use Site Kit
Site Kit excels if you:
- Prioritize free plugins and simple configuration
- Prefer automation over manual adjustments
- Desire Google Analytics without extra plugins
- Need search console or ad activation tools
Now let‘s move onto #3…
3. Soliloquy – Popular Post Slider
Soliloquy takes a distinct approach by showcasing popular posts in polished image sliders and carousels.
The Soliloquy builder makes it easy to create eye-catching Rotators highlighting your top articles or trends:
[soliloquy slider]You pick the posts and Soliloquy automatically pulls the featured images, headlines and excerpts into the slider.
Custom styling and responsive designs adapt to any theme for flawless integration. Making your popular content shine has never been simpler.
Key Features
- Intuitive drag and drop post slider creation
- Auto-populates images, titles and excerpts
- Sort by views, comments, custom fields, etc
- Fully responsive across devices
- Extensive style and animation options
Soliloquy leapfrogs limitations of standard post lists. Presenting popular posts as a slider, carousel or grid opens creative presentation options.
This allows showcasing your best and trending articles prominently across any WordPress site.
When To Use Soliloquy
Soliloquy excels when you:
- Seek polished sliders over basic post lists
- Desire highlighting trends prominently
- Have a visual design that favors images
- Prefer custom presentation beyond widgets
4. WPPopularPosts
Next up is WPPopularPosts, a lightweight plugin solely focused on popular posts functionality.
Its slim footprint keeps resource usage low for efficiency. Pages load faster for visitors as a result.
WPPopularPosts tracks popularity in a separate database table to avoid WordPress performance drags. Caching and image lazy loading further optimize the end user experience.
Let‘s overview some notable features:
Key Features
- Fast performance via independent database
- Multiple widgets with vast customizations
- Display posts by views, comments or manual selection
- Default sidebar widget powered by views
- Translated into 20+ languages
With 2 million+ active installs, WPPopularPosts proves a top choice for many site owners seeking trending content displays.
Leading the lightweight pack, it provides all expected options without bloating sites down. Quick clicks addPerform basic customizations directly through the widget interface.
For more advanced users, PHP code changes and templates tags integrate deeper into theme templates. Documentation helps guide modifications.
When To Use WPPopularPosts
WPPopularPosts is ideal if you:
- Need a lightweight popular posts setup
- Seek simplicity without sacrificing control
- Prioritize fast performance and caching
- Desire flexibility in presentations
Now onto #5…
5. Trending Slider and Widgets
This aptly-named plugin focuses solely on trending posts presented through slideshows, carousels grids and widgets.
The sliders are great for showcasing popular articles prominently. Smooth animations cycle posts dynamically with thumbnail previews.
For more content-rich displays, the carousels and grids better showcase article details. Of course traditional list widgets are included too.
Key Features
- Responsive post sliders and carousels
- Custom grid blocks
- Traditional list widgets
- Categorize, tag and post type filters
- Date range selections
- Easy shortcode implementation
I‘m using the post carousel across my sites now to highlight top performing tutorials and guides:
[Post Carousel]The plugin is very configurable, with fine control over date ranges, design aspects and content filters. Documentation assists modifying parameters.
The free version limits to 10 posts while paid plans enable more. But for most purposes, 10 trending articles is plenty.
When To Use Trending Slider and Widget
This plugin helps if you:
- Wish dynamic popular post displays
- Seek attention-grabbing visual flair
- Desire presentation beyond lists
- Have a strong visual theme
Now let‘s explore options 6-8…
6-8. Other Notable Popular Posts Plugins
I‘m focusing this guide on the top performers based on ratings,Downloads and user satisfaction. But a few other options deserve quick mention:
6. Display Posts – A flexible shortcode plugin allowing advanced custom queries outside typical popularity metrics. Requires comfort with shortcode syntax.
7. Relevant – Combines popular, related and latest posts across widgets and shortcodes. Lacks some advanced filters but simplifies multiple displays.
8. Top 10 – A classic popular posts plugin with all expected options and aggressive caching. Somewhat dated interface but still solid performance.
The above make great alternatives depending on specific use case needs.
I hope this detailed evaluation of the top popular posts plugins assists finding your best fit! Now let‘s recap key highlights…
Summary and Recommendation
While all plugins here add value, MonsterInsights remains my top choice for most websites.
The direct Google Analytics integration provides unmatched accuracy in determining true site popularity. The CODE customization abilities also let advanced users tap deeper insights than competitors.
But casual site owners may better appreciate the sheer simplicity of Site Kit. Just install and activate for popular posts, no manual selection required.
Soliloquy also earned high marks for developers wanting to showcase popular content prominently in stylized sliders.
Choose the plugin aligning best with your use case, site needs and skill level. All options deliver improved on-site engagement – picking the right match pushes impact further.
Let me know if you have any other questions on displaying popular posts in WordPress!
