linux4me2

<p>This widget allows you to insert arbitrary Text and/or HTML code (optional) to precede a list of recent posts by category. It makes it easy to add introductory comments and to achieve interesting effects like wrapping your posts list around an image. It’s designed to be lightweight and easy on resources.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Note: Widget Blocks, added in WordPress 5.8, make this plugin no longer necessary. The same results can be obtained by using a Widget Group, Heading Block, Custom HTML Block, and the  Latest Posts Block. The latter also allows the use of multiple categories, which is not available with this plugin. Unless something major happens to change things, I won’t be developing the plugin beyond the current version (2.0.0).</p>
</blockquote>


HTML Plus Recent Posts by Category Widget

Like the Legacy Recent Posts widget, but adds the ability to select the category and add text or HTML before the list of posts.

Mark-k

Daniel Floeter

Mrinal Roy

<p>Category Posts Widget is a light widget designed to do one thing and do it well: display the most recent posts from a certain category.</p>
<h4>Term and Category based Posts Widget</h4>
<p>A premium version of that free widget available at <a href="https://tiptoppress.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">tiptoppress.com</a> created for big WordPress sites.</p>
<h4>Premium features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Auto-sizing Grid layout</li>
<li>Custom field support in the Template</li>
<li>Shortcode support in the Template</li>
<li>Image-Slider (or News-Ticker)</li>
<li>Asymmetrical list layouts</li>
<li>Full background images</li>
<li>Masonry responsive grid layout</li>
<li>More complex filter (ANY, NOT, AND, …)</li>
<li>Custom Post Types, Events, Products support</li>
<li>All free features</li>
<li>E-Mail support</li>
<li>More examples on the <a href="https://demo.tiptoppress.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">demo pages</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://tiptoppress.com/template-arrange-post-details/" rel="nofollow ugc">Template</a> to arrange the post details.</li>
<li>The Template text can be a post details placeholder, plain text, HTML or a font-icons.</li>
<li>Font-icon support.</li>
<li>‘Load more’ button / Ajax API</li>
<li>Item Title heading level buttons</li>
<li>Excerpt length and item title in lines (line-clamp)</li>
<li>Shortcode (Easily change all Shortcode options in the customizer).</li>
<li>Date range filter</li>
<li>New date format: Time since plublished</li>
<li>Filter by post status: Published, scheduled, private.</li>
<li>Multiple shortcodes at the same site or post.</li>
<li>Add option for post offset (use two or more widgets after another).</li>
<li>Admin UI: Buttons in the editor toolbar to insert shortcode.</li>
<li>Option to touch device friendly “everything is a link”.</li>
<li>For editing shortcode adds a Customizer link to the admin-bar (“With one click to the Customizer”).</li>
<li>Set thumbnail width & height / image crop with CSS (object-fit).</li>
<li>Fluid images (max-width in %).</li>
<li>One thumb dimension can be left empty.</li>
<li>Option to set mouse hover effects for post thumbnail.</li>
<li>Set a default thumbnail.</li>
<li>Hide widget text or text, if there is no post.</li>
<li>Option to hide posts which have no thumbnail.</li>
<li>Option exclude current post.</li>
<li>Option show post author, comment’s count, post date.</li>
<li>Admin UI: Set / find thumbnail size buttons: +, ¼, ½, 2x, -, ratio and Media sizes</li>
<li>Admin UI: Buttons to easy add post details placeholder.</li>
<li>Multi sites support.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Documentation</h4>
<ul>
<li>Full <a href="https://tiptoppress.com/category-posts-widget/documentation-4-9" rel="nofollow ugc">documentation</a></li>
<li>Shortcode: Use [catposts] in the content and <a href="https://tiptoppress.com/use-shortcode-to-add-category-posts-widget-to-the-content/" rel="nofollow ugc">edit in the customizer</a></li>
<li>Formatting date and time: See <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Formatting_Date_and_Time" rel="nofollow ugc">Formatting Date and Time</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Contribute</h4>
<p>While using this plugin if you find any bug or any conflict, please submit an issue at<br />
<a href="https://github.com/DanielFloeter/category-posts-widget" rel="nofollow ugc">Github</a> (If possible with a pull request).</p>


Category Posts Widget

Very easy to customize the view, as a widget or shortcode. Utilizes the customizer to customize the shortcode display. Elegant.

Very useful and works perfect

Adds a widget that shows the most recent posts from a single category.

HTML Plus Recent Posts by Category Widget vs Category Posts Widget