Do I need to be a developer to use GA Top Posts?
Absolutely not! You don’t need to write any fancy queries or even a single line of code to use this plugin. Once you connect and give access to your Google Analytics property, your top content will be retrieved automatically. You can then filter the results according to your needs and feature the content using predefined layout through Gutenberg blocks and widgets.
Do I need a different plugin to unlock all features?
No. GA Top Posts is a single plugin . Some features are locked by default and are unlocked when you upgrade your plan — there is nothing new to download, install, or activate.
How do I unlock features?
Click the Upgrade button anywhere inside the plugin — you’ll find it in the sidebar and on any locked feature. This opens the subscription wizard directly inside your WordPress dashboard. Follow the on-screen steps to complete your plan upgrade. Once confirmed, the plugin automatically refreshes your plan status and unlocks all features immediately — nothing extra to do.
If features are still locked after upgrading, use the refresh button in the Top Posts Manager or visit the Configuration tab to re-verify your API key.
Can I customize the appearance of the GA Top Posts Widget?
Yes. GA Top Posts gives you a wide range of display options:
- Number of posts — set how many top posts to show.
- Separator lines — toggle dividers between post cards.
- Content elements — show or hide post title, excerpt, category, tag, and image.
- Card style — choose the overall visual style of each card.
- Image layout — display the featured image as a full-width cover above the post, or position it to the left or right of the content.
- Numbered badge — show a rank number directly on the post image, with a customisable badge background colour.
- Title icon — optionally display an icon alongside the post title.
All options are available in the widget settings, the Gutenberg block inspector, and the Elementor widget panel.
I have installed the plugin and connected my Google Analytics property. What happens next?
Upon your first access of the Top Posts Manager tab, a default “Top Posts” filter is automatically created to retrieve data from Google Analytics. You can customize this filter according to your needs.
Can I display only posts or only pages through GA Top Posts?
Yes, you can select either posts or pages separately when editing a filter, rather than having one combined option for both.
Is GA Top Posts compatible with Elementor?
Absolutely. We’ve added an Elementor widget that allows you to display a filter in a section on your page. It includes similar customization options as those available on the widget page. If you don’t see the widget, please make sure to update to the latest version of GA Top Posts.
I am using the shortcode to display my top posts. Can I still limit the number of posts to display?
Yes. When you copy a filter’s shortcode, the limit set for that filter is included as a parameter in the shortcode. You can modify this limit if needed for display purposes.
How can I manage the display of categories and tags in the plugin?
On the configuration tab, under “display options per content type”, you can select the content type you are targeting and enable or disable the display of categories and tags.
How often is the data refreshed from Google Analytics?
You have the option of refreshing the Google Analytics data every 1 hour, 2 hours, or 6 hours. This can be adjusted from the plugin’s configuration page.
How can I exclude a post from being displayed in the list of my top posts?
You can easily exclude any post from being displayed by hovering over it and clicking the “Exclude” button. To include the post again, simply hover over it and click the button once more.
Is there a way to pin a post to the top of the displayed posts?
Yes, you can pin a post to the top by hovering over it and clicking the “Pin” button. Similarly, you can unpin it by hovering and clicking the “Unpin” button.
Which metric from Google Analytics does this plugin use for ranking?
The plugin tracks page views using the screenPageViews metric which is defined by Google as “The number of app screens or web pages your users viewed. Repeated views of a single page or screen are counted. ( screen_view + page_view events).” This may not necessarily match up to a page view number you see in Google Analytics dashboard.
Can I have multiple widgets and filters on my site?
Yes. With an upgraded plan, you can create multiple filters with different criteria such as date range, scope (content type), language (if your site is multilingual using the WPML Plugin), and the number of items to display. You can also add multiple widgets using these filters. On the free plan, you can only set one filter, but you can still display it in multiple widgets.
Can I place different widgets on different pages and locations of my site?
Yes. You can place widgets in different areas of your site with different options. You can:
- Add a WordPress widget and select the filter you want to display.
- Use the Gutenberg block and choose a filter to show the top posts within post pages.
- Copy the filter shortcode and place it anywhere in your theme or page.
Can I control what kind of content goes into each widget and filter?
Yes. Each filter allows you to choose which posts to display. You can select from different post types (e.g., posts, pages, or any custom post type registered on your site) and taxonomies (categories, tags, or any custom taxonomies registered on your site).
Can I filter down to a specific post type within a certain category or tag?
Not yet. This feature is on our backlog and may be added in a future release.
Can I try the full feature set before committing to an upgrade?
Yes. Reach out to us and we’ll provide you with a 7-day trial code to unlock all features.
Does GA Top Posts work with Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?
Yes. GA Top Posts is built exclusively for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and uses the GA4 Data API to retrieve page view metrics. Universal Analytics (UA) properties are not supported, as Google retired Universal Analytics in July 2023.
What features are locked and what can I unlock by upgrading?
By default, the plugin lets you get started with one filter showing up to 5 posts of a single post type. It is available for free on wordpress.org .
Upgrading your plan removes those limits and unlocks:
- Unlimited filters and higher post display limits
- All post types and custom post types
- Custom date ranges for analytics data
- Multilingual filtering via WPML
- Priority support
Visit our website for full pricing and feature details.
Can I use a custom date range for the analytics data?
Yes. When creating or editing a filter, you can choose from preset date ranges (e.g., last 7 days, last 30 days, last 90 days) or use the custom date picker to define a specific start and end date. This lets you rank posts over any period — for example, a particular campaign window or the past calendar year. Custom date ranges are available on all plans.
Does GA Top Posts affect my website’s page load speed?
No. GA Top Posts is built to be lightweight and fast. Analytics data is fetched from Google on the server side and cached in your WordPress database, so visitors never trigger a live API call — they always read from the cache. You control how often the cache refreshes (every 1, 2, or 6 hours) from the plugin’s configuration page. Thumbnail images are used instead of full-sized images for faster load times on the frontend.
Does the plugin support custom post types?
Yes. With an upgraded plan, any custom post type registered on your WordPress site (e.g., products, recipes, events) appears as a scope option when creating or editing a filter. On the free plan, one post type is supported at a time — you can choose between posts, pages, or any single custom post type, but you cannot combine multiple types in one filter.
Is the plugin compatible with caching plugins?
Yes. Because GA Top Posts caches analytics data server-side in the WordPress database, it is compatible with page caching plugins such as WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, and Kinsta Cache. The frontend widget reads from the database cache and does not make live API calls, so it works correctly even when full-page caching is active.
Does the plugin support dark mode?
Yes. The GA Top Posts widget and the admin pages both support dark mode. The plugin respects your site’s colour scheme preference and switches between light and dark themes accordingly, so the widget blends naturally with your site’s design whether visitors are browsing in dark mode or light mode.
What happens if I deactivate or uninstall the plugin?
Deactivating the plugin hides its widgets from the frontend but leaves all settings and cached data intact. Reactivating restores everything without needing to reconnect your Google Analytics property.
Deleting (uninstalling) the plugin removes the plugin files from your server. Your settings and cached data stored in the WordPress database are retained unless you manually delete them. Your site remains connected on the GATopPosts.com platform, so you can reinstall and re-enter your API key to pick up right where you left off.
Why is “No posts found” showing in my widget?
The “No posts found” empty state can appear for a few reasons:
- Your Google Analytics property has not collected enough data for the selected date range yet.
- The filter’s scope (post type) or taxonomy criteria do not match any published posts on your site.
- All matching posts have been manually excluded from display.
- The cached data has expired and a fresh fetch from Google Analytics is still pending.
To troubleshoot, open the Top Posts Manager, check your filter settings, and use the refresh button to trigger a new data fetch from Google Analytics.
Can I display top posts in a two-column layout?
Yes. GA Top Posts lets you switch between a single-column and a two-column layout directly in the widget, Gutenberg block, or Elementor widget settings. A two-column layou
