Hao Nguyen

Init Recent Comments is a developer-friendly plugin that lets you display the latest comments anywhere via a simple shortcode. It uses clean HTML, minimal CSS, and fully customizable templates.
No widgets, no bloated options. Just lightweight, extendable code — made for real sites.
Key design goals:
<ul>
<li>Templated rendering with override support from themes</li>
<li>Clean CSS you can disable or replace</li>
<li>REST-ready architecture (future-proof)</li>
<li>No jQuery, no nonsense</li>
</ul>
Perfect for blogs, news sites, or anyone who wants a better way to show active discussions.
This plugin is part of the <a href="https://en.inithtml.com/init-plugin-suite-minimalist-powerful-and-free-wordpress-plugins/" rel="nofollow ugc">Init Plugin Suite</a> — a collection of minimalist, fast, and developer-focused tools for WordPress.
GitHub repository: <a href="https://github.com/brokensmile2103/init-recent-comments" rel="nofollow ugc">https://github.com/brokensmile2103/init-recent-comments</a>
<h3>Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Simple shortcode: <code>[init_recent_comments]</code></li>
<li>Template-based rendering (<code>comment-item.php</code>, <code>wrapper.php</code>)</li>
<li>CSS can be disabled to use your theme’s design</li>
<li>No widgets, no jQuery, no frontend bloat</li>
<li>Developer-ready: extend with filters, REST, and lazy loading (planned)</li>
<li>Translation-ready (<code>.pot</code> included)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Usage</h3>
Use the shortcode anywhere:
<pre><code>[init_recent_comments number="5" maxheight="400px"]
</code></pre>
Attributes:
<ul>
<li><code>number</code> – Total comments to show (default: 5)</li>
<li><code>maxheight</code> – Optional max height with scroll and hidden scrollbar (example: <code>300px</code>)</li>
</ul>
To override templates, create the folder in your theme:
<pre><code>your-theme/
└── init-recent-comments/
 ├── wrapper.php
 └── comment-item.php<h3>Filters for Developers</h3>
</code></pre>
This plugin provides multiple filters to help developers customize caching behavior and performance for recent comments, reviews, and total comment count queries.
<code>init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_ttl</code> 
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for recent comments. 
Applies to: Recent Comments Query 
Params: <code>int $ttl</code>
<code>init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_query_args</code> 
Allows developers to modify or extend the WP_Comment query arguments before the query runs. 
Applies to: Recent Comments Query 
Params: <code>array $args</code>
<code>init_plugin_suite_recent_reviews_ttl</code> 
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for recent reviews. 
Applies to: Recent Reviews Query 
Params: <code>int $ttl</code>
<code>init_plugin_suite_total_comments_ttl</code> 
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for total approved comment counts by post type. 
Applies to: Total Comments Query 
Params: <code>int $ttl</code>, <code>array $post_types</code>
<code>init_plugin_suite_total_by_posts_ttl</code> 
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for total approved comment counts across multiple post IDs. 
Applies to: Total by Post IDs Query 
Params: <code>int $ttl</code>, <code>array $post_ids</code>
<h3>License</h3>
This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. 
You are free to use, modify, and distribute it under the same license.

Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal

Display recent comments with customizable templates and clean CSS. Lightweight, flexible, and built for modern WordPress sites.

Ga Satrya

Idenovasi

This plugin will enable a custom and advanced recent comments widget. Allows you to display a list of the most recent comments with avatar and excerpt, you can also choose which to show newer comments first or older comments first and choose comments from any post type.
<h4>Support this project</h4>
If you are enjoying this plugin. I would appreciate a cup of coffee to help me keep coding and supporting the project! <a href="https://paypal.me/satrya" rel="nofollow ugc">Support & donate</a>.
<h4>Features Include</h4>
<ul>
<li>Display avatar with customizable size.</li>
<li>Display comment excerpt with customizable length.</li>
<li>Exclude pingback & trackback</li>
<li>Post type option.</li>
<li>Offset option.</li>
<li>Option to choose the comments order.</li>
<li>Allows you to set title url.</li>
<li>Custom CSS class.</li>
<li>Multiple widgets.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Links</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/comments-widget-plus/" rel="nofollow ugc">Translate to your language</a>.</li>
<li>Contribute or submit issues on <a href="https://github.com/satrya/comments-widget-plus" rel="nofollow ugc">Github</a>.</li>
</ul>

Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal vs Recent Comments Widget Plus