There are several reasons as to why I personally use contextual related posts plugin on my WordPress website. Besides being a powerful plugin, highly rated and very fast in loading, it also features lots of many other features which every webmaster would love to see in action on their sites.
In this review, you will discover those key factors as to why contextual related posts should be on your list of plugins to add on your WordPress versus others similar ones you have been using already. Lets take a look at the above in detail.
Review item: Contextual Related Posts
Developer: WebberZone
Price: Free
Version support: WordPress 4.7 or higher
Active installations: 70,000+ (Post date)
What is Contextual Related Posts?
Also known as CRP, it is described as a “powerful plugin for WordPress that allows you to display a list of related posts on your website and in your feed”. Indeed, CRP is powerful when you take a deep look at and action of how it works.
Unlike other related posts plugins we know, contextual related posts plugin bases on the post titles and or contents thus listing results related to the current article thus improving on the overall bounce rates in addition to visitor engagement.
Contextual Related Posts Features
This plugin has lots of advanced features which can be used depending on ones customization, likes and interests. Below are the feature as shown on the WordPress plugins page. By installing the above, you will be making use of and enjoying all of the below features at glance.
- Automatic: CRP will start displaying related posts on your site and feed automatically after the content when you activate the plugin. No need to edit template files
- Manual install: Want more control over placement? Check the FAQon which functions are available for manual install.
- Caching: Related posts output is automatically cached as visitors browse through your site
- Widgets: Add related posts to widgetized area of your theme. Lots of options available
- Shortcode: Use
[crp]to display the posts anywhere you want in the post content- The algorithm: Find related posts by title and/or content of the current post
- Exclusions: Exclude posts from categories from being displayed in the list. Or you can exclude posts or pages by ID
- Custom post types: The related posts list lets you include posts, pages, attachments or any other custom post type!
- Thumbnail support:
- Support for WordPress post thumbnails. CRP will create a custom image size (
crp_thumbnail) with the dimensions specified in the Settings page- Auto-extract the first image in your post to be displayed as a thumbnail
- Manually enter the URL of the thumbnail via WordPress meta fields. Specify this using the meta box in your Edit screens.
- Optionally, use timthumb to resize images or use your own filter function to resize post images
- Styles: The output is wrapped in CSS classes which allows you to easily style the list. You can enter your custom CSS styles from within WordPress Admin area or use the style included.
- Customisable output:
- Display excerpts in post. You can select the length of the excerpt in words
- Customise which HTML tags to use for displaying the output in case you don’t prefer the default list format
- Extendable code: CRP has tonnes of filters and actions that allow any developer to easily add features, edit outputs, etc.
How to activate Contextual Related Posts
Activating CRP plugin on your WordPress website is a very easy task. It only requires one to visit either download the plugin and upload it using any FTP or file manager of choice, and or add it directly from WordPress plugins page. Follow below to add, install, activate and use contextual related posts.
- Log into your “WordPress site” using “Admin account”.
- Scroll and hoover on “Plugins” and click “Add New”.
- Enter “Contextual Related Posts” in the “search box” next to “keyword”.
- Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”.
Superb! You have now successfully installed and activated the CRP plugin and you are ready to deploy it on your site according to your preferences and customization.
Customizing the plugin
Once you have activated the plugin, a new menu will be created on your WordPress website. Follow procedures below to tweak CRP and deploy it according to your settings.
- On “Active Plugins” list, scroll and click “Settings” on “Contextual Related Posts”.
- Tweak all settings according to your choice.
- Click “Save settings”.
Navigate between general settings, list tuning, output, thumbnail, styles, feed and etc as you configure how you want the related posts to look on your site.
Similar plugins for WordPress
Like we all know, WordPress rocks when it comes to adding advanced additional features on any website. The same applies when adding related posts. There are lots of related posts plugins which you can chose from depending on your needs. Check out the list below.
- Yuzo related posts
- Divi related posts
- Jetpack related posts
- Related Posts Thumbnails Plugin for WordPress
- Related Posts for WordPress
- Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)
- Related Posts by Taxonomy
- Related Post Inside Plugin
- ARK Related Posts
- Custom Related Posts
- CP Related Posts
- Same Category Posts
- Related Post
- Inline Related Posts
Now that you have explored about this plugin review, I am sure you are able to tell why I use it and why it should be on your list. Good characteristics will always output best results. May be you should give it a try by downloading it here.
