Creating a successful WordPress site is not always as simple as creating a few pages of content and keeping up with your blog. In fact, as the internet continues to evolve and change, new methods of boosting SEO, or search engine optimization, as well as overall visibility online have become increasingly effective and popular.

If you have your own WordPress site and you are in the process of generating additional visitors and increasing the traffic on your site itself, consider using some of the best popular post plugins available for all WordPress users and websites.

A popular post plugin for WordPress can help to display relevant posts and pieces of content on your website that are most likely to resonate with a visitor based on what they are already browsing as well as the items they search for on your website itself.    

YARPP

YARPP, which stands for 'Yet Another Related Posts Plugin', is a plugin designed to display relevant content based on post type using a compatible version of WordPress and theme.

Using YARPP is ideal whether you are interested in showcasing blogs, articles, or even custom post types that you have created for your WordPress website.

Features

• Custom styles: If you are interested in custom styles and templates, YARPP allows you maximum flexibility and total control over how your posts are displayed and showcased.
• Advanced algorithm: Using a custom and advanced algorithm designed for only users of YARPP is a way to ensure all of the content that is displayed and promoted to your visitors is always as relevant as possible.
• Caching abilities: It is also possible to use built-in caching features with YARPP that help to make the loading of your content as well as your contextual posts as fast and as smooth as possible.  
• Translation-ready: YARPP is compatible with all languages, making it extremely appealing to international audiences and developers alike. 

Pricing

Currently, YARPP is a completely free-to-use related posts plugin for all WordPress users, whether you are using the plugin for personal or commercial use.   

YARPP is a great plugin for anyone who is looking for a related posts plugin that is not overly complex and one that is free and easy to install. 

Contextual Related Posts

Contextual Related Posts, or CRP, is another reputable and popular WordPress plugin that is designed to easily implement popular and relevant posts into just about any area of a WordPress site.

With Contextual Related Posts, never miss another opportunity to appeal to your current visitors with relevant and unique content again. 

Features

• Quick install: Easily install CRP by searching for Contextual Related Posts using the Plugin library of your WordPress installation.
• Modern display: Enjoy a modern display of contextual posts, whether you choose to implement your CRP widget beneath each of your blog updates or on the main page of your website. 
• Caching algorithm: A show-stopping feature available from CRP includes its intense caching algorithm to help with loading relevant and related posts as fast as possible without lag or delay.
• Widget integration: With CRP, you can easily implement related posts with the use of a drag-and-drop widget, so long as your current WordPress theme supports active widgets.
• Custom CSS: If you enjoy customizing the look and feel of your WordPress site, custom CSS is also possible with the Contextual Related Posts plugin. 
• Shortcodes: Use an entire list of available shortcodes with CRP to streamline your entire process of updating your website by implementing relevant posts and content.  

Pricing

Contextual Related Posts, or CRP, is available to download free of charge for both personal and commercial users. 

Designers and developers who are looking for a way to easily integrate their relevant content and posts can benefit from using the Contextual Related Posts, or CRP plugin.  

WordPress Popular Posts

Advanced users of WordPress understand just how robust the WordPress platform and system is, whether you are building a single-page portfolio website or a social media platform of your own.

WordPress Popular Posts is a plugin for WordPress that is advanced and highly customizable for those who are searching for the most features possible. 

Features

WordPress Popular Posts does so much more than simply display popular and/or relevant posts or pieces of content to visitors on your website. Additional features that help WordPress Popular Posts to stand out and make this list include: 

• Dashboard: Enjoy a complete statistics and analytics dashboard to gain valuable insight into your website's visitors and current users
• Multi-widget functions: You can use more than one widget with WordPress Popular Posts to display relevant and interesting content all around various areas of your site. 
• Time range settings: Want to display only the most recent posts in your relevant post section on your site? No problem. With WordPress Popular Posts, you can set numerous time range modules to include posts and updates from only a set range of dates.
• Custom themes available: With WordPress Popular Posts, take advantage of custom themes that are included with the plugin, or opt to design and develop a theme of your own.
• Sorting: With WordPress Popular Posts, you have the ability to easily sort comments by views and even by comments that receive the most engagement with just a few clicks. 
• Advanced caching: If you are worried about the speed of your WordPress site and the loading time of your WordPress site pages, you no longer need to with WordPress Popular Posts installed. WordPress Popular Posts includes advanced caching technologies to help streamline the loading time of your entire WordPress site as well as the relevant and contextual posts that are also displayed. 

Pricing

Fortunately, even with all of its advanced features and complexities, WordPress Popular Posts is available as a completely free plugin for all users. 

For those who are interested in shortcode support, template tags, WordPress multisite support, and complete control when it comes to creating layouts and implementing relevant posts, WordPress Popular Posts may be the right choice for you.   

WP Postviews

For those who enjoy implementing WordPress plugins manually and with snippets of code, WP Postviews is a free WordPress plugin that you should not miss. WP Postviews provides users with the ability to easily display post statistics directly on your WordPress site. 

Features

• The ability to display the number of views any type of post receives using your WordPress site
• Ability to add post author to the views you are displaying
• Ability to showcase both most viewed as well as least viewed posts directly on your website using various snippets of code
• Requires manual editing and pasting for specific display solutions 
• Widget-compatible for WordPress, allowing the ability to easily and instantly implement the plugin even if you choose not to do so on your own and with the use of a code snippet 

Pricing

WP Postviews has always been free to download and use, both personally and commercially. However, the developer does currently accept donations from those who wish to show a token of appreciation. 

WP Postviews is a great WordPress plugin for anyone who is interested in displaying the total number of views a page, post, or blog receives on their WordPress site. 

Related Posts for WP

Related Posts for WP is an all-in-one contextual posts plugin solution that offers premium services with an ongoing subscription model for those who are interested.

With Related Posts for WP, take advantage of an automatic system that assists with searching for, finding, and featuring related posts all throughout your WordPress site as well as on-demand. 

Features

With Related Posts for WP, you are getting so much more than just the opportunity to display contextual posts next to an existing article or page of content. Some of the most favored features of Related Posts for WP include:

• Automatic and behind the scenes: Once your Related Posts for WP plugin has been installed, it will begin automatically searching through existing posts and pages you have published on your WordPress site for tags, contextual information, and even meta descriptions.
• Manual removal: If you want to remove a post or page from being displayed with Related Posts for WP, you can do so with just a few clicks once you are logged in as an admin in your WordPress backend.
• Lightweight: Related Posts for WP is extremely versatile and lightweight, minimizing any stress on your current servers and ensuring that your WordPress site will still load at lightning speeds.
• Drag-and-drop: manage the layout of how you display your related posts with a built-in drag-and-drop builder, simplifying the design process regardless of your skill level.
• Widget and shortcode support: Want to cut to the chase and begin implementing popular and related posts as quickly as possible? You can do so with Related Posts for WP as the plugin is both shortcode and widget-compatible. 

Pricing

If you think Related Posts for WP is a great fit for your WordPress site and the vision you have in mind for it, you can get started with the plugin for the low cost of $5.99 per month. You can also opt for an annual plan which runs $39.90 per year.

Unfortunately, the Related Posts for WP plugin is not available free of charge or for a one-time fee, as it is an all-in-one solution that comes with much more than just a snippet of code to display contextual and relevant content on-demand. 

Popular Posts and Contextual Insights

Popular Posts and Contextual Insights is a highlighted feature of the well-known MonsterInsights service. MonsterInsights is known as one of the most powerful Analytics and data-tracking plugins for WordPress today, especially for those who are interested in premium features and/or services. 

Features

• Display inline popular posts
• Use widgets to display popular posts and contextual content
• Showcase popular products in your own eCommerce when you are using WooCommerce in conjunction with WordPress
• Customize how your popular posts are displayed and choose from a variety of pre-built layouts and designs if you are not interested in creating a new template yourself.
• Choose how your posts are displayed based on comments, total share count, or even based on how you have selectively curated the posts yourself.

Pricing

Unfortunately, using the Popular Posts and Contextual Insights features from MonsterInsights is not possible without a premium subscription plan. The current packages available from MonsterInsights include:

• Plus: $99.50 per year - Unlimited pageviews - Unlimited users - 1 site  
• Pro: $199.50 per year - Unlimited pageviews - Unlimited users - 5 sites
• Agency: $399.50 per year - Unlimited pageviews - Unlimited users - 25 sites  

If you are interested in a premium solution that is suitable even for enterprise clients when it comes to displaying contextual insights and popular posts, Popular Posts and Contextual Insights from MonsterInsights may be just what you need to get started.

Top Posts Pages Widget

If you are looking for a unique way to display your most popular posts in a recent timeframe, consider using the Top Posts Pages Widget. The Top Posts Pages Widget, developed by Jetpack, offers a special way to display your website's most popular pages within the last 48 hours.

Features

• Use the Top Posts Pages Widget to display your most liked posts within the last 48 hours
• Display up to 10 of your most recent posts in one area or section of your WordPress site with the Top Posts Pages Widget in place.  
• Easily configure the Top Posts Pages Widget to display either posts, pages, media, or all at once before publishing the widget to the public.
• Share the Top Posts Pages Widget anywhere on your site with the use of a code snippet.

Pricing

Currently, the Top Posts Pages Widget is free to use for all users who currently have Jetpack downloaded and installed in their most recent WordPress installation. Top Posts Pages Widget can be easily implemented with the use of a shortcode, provided by Jetpack directly.  

Which Popular Post Plugin for WordPress is best?

For users who are looking for a free popular post plugin that is no frills but gets the job done, YARPP is a clear pick and winner. 

If you are looking for a way to implement a widget in order to display relevant posts and updates throughout your WordPress site, consider using CRP, or the Contextual Related Posts plugin. 

If you are looking for a popular post plugin for WordPress that is a bit more advanced and thorough, yet free of charge, we cannot recommend WordPress Popular Posts enough.

Those who enjoy implementing their own WordPress plugins with shortcodes and with snippets of code may enjoy using WP PostViews to display the most and least viewed posts on their site.

Anyone who is looking for a robust and all-in-one contextual posts plugin that also provides automatic and ongoing updates may find that Related Posts for WP is the best choice for their website. 

Enterprise clients and business owners who are interested in top-tier professional support and ongoing service with an analytics-driven WordPress plugin may find that Popular Posts and Contextual Insights from MonsterInsights is just right. 

If you are looking for a way to display the posts and pages (or pieces of media) that have received the most traffic in the past 48 hours alone, you can do so with the Top Posts Pages Widget.