Pieter Bos

On websites we develop for clients we always add this widget to their WordPress Dashboard to keep them informed on general updates regarding their websites. We thought it would be a handy tool for other developers, so we turned the widget into a plugin.
The default settings are:
<ul>
<li>the standard title of the widget box is “Recent Updates”</li>
<li>as we needed a default feed URL we use the feed of WP TIPS, one of our own websites</li>
<li>the default number of RSS items is 3</li>
<li>do not open link in new tab (since 2014.07.27)</li>
<li>yellow background color of the widget (<code>#FFFF99</code>)</li>
</ul>
We have decided to only support this plugin through <a href="https://github.com/senlin/so-dashboard-feed-widget/issues" rel="nofollow ugc">Github</a>. Therefore, if you have any questions, need help and/or want to make a feature request, please open an issue over at Github. You can also browse through open and closed issues to find what you are looking for and perhaps even help others.

Dashboard Feed Widget

The Dashboard Feed Widget shows the latest Posts from a site of your choice in the top of the WordPress Dashboard.

MailerLite

This plugin automatically adds featured images of your posts into the RSS feed.
Features:
<ul>
<li>Automatically adds featured images of your posts into the RSS feed</li>
<li>Choose from all available image sizes</li>
<li>Choose from multiple image alignment options</li>
</ul>

Featured Image in RSS Feed by MailerLite

This plugin automatically adds featured images of your posts into the RSS feed.

Dashboard Feed Widget vs Featured Image in RSS Feed by MailerLite