linux4me2

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.
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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).
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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.

Tarun Yaduvanshi

Super Advanced Posts Plugin is a light Plugin advanced version of the WordPress Posts widget allowing increased customization to display recent posts and other posts from all categories and taxonomy or from custom post types.
New Features:
<ul>
<li>Add Ajax in widgets Filter Taxonomy and Terms</li>
<li>More easily and dynamic Post by Filter</li>
</ul>
Features:
<ul>
<li>Display post thumbnails, with customizable size.</li>
<li>Display post excerpt and more. </li>
<li>Provides option to:</li>
<li>show the post excerpt and how long the excerpt should be.</li>
<li>show read more link</li>
<li>override the post order to order by; date, title, random, etc.</li>
<li>post form all categories</li>
<li>select custom post type</li>
<li>Multiple widgets.</li>
</ul>

Super Advanced Posts

Add Ajax in widgets Filter Taxonomy and Terms. More easily and dynamic Post by Filter. Adds a widget that can display recent posts and other posts fro …

HTML Plus Recent Posts by Category Widget vs Super Advanced Posts