The Hits List
Track post views locally, display popular posts, and migrate Top 10 data into a completely free, drop-in replacement.
Solid choice
The Hits List is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 62/100 on our health check.
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where The Hits List stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| blocks | >100 |
| migration | >100 |
| page views | >100 |
| popular posts | >100 |
| post views | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About The Hits List
From the official readme · v1.4.0Description
The Hits List keeps post view tracking on your own WordPress site and gives you block, widget, and template-tag tools for displaying popular content.
Key features:
- Local view tracking stored in WordPress database tables
- Trending posts ranked by how fast views are rising, not just totals
- Refresh candidates highlighting well-read posts that have gone quiet
- CSV and JSON export of your view counts
- Overall and daily popular-post counts
- Popular Posts block and widget support with public post type selection
- WordPress dashboard cards for daily top posts, all-time top posts, and views over time
- Editor metabox controls for post counts, per-post exclusions, display suppression, and manual thumbnail URLs
- Top 10 migration compatibility with resumable rerun-safe imports, WP-CLI tools, legacy widget support, native widget conversion, cleanup for old Top 10 leftovers, and optional Top 10 plugin removal
- REST-based tracking with AJAX fallback
- Privacy-policy integration for site owners
Privacy
The Hits List stores post view counts locally in the hits_list and hits_list_daily database tables (table prefix may vary).
It does not send tracking data to a third-party analytics service.
Daily tracking buckets are retained for 180 days by default and older rows are removed automatically.
You are responsible for describing your use of visitor analytics on your own site as needed.
Source Code and Build Tools
The compiled block assets in blocks/popular-posts/build/ are generated from the human-readable source files included in blocks/popular-posts/src/.
To rebuild the block assets:
- Go to
blocks/popular-posts/. - Run
npm install. - Run
npm run build.
The block build uses @wordpress/scripts. Runtime PHP, vanilla JavaScript, and CSS assets outside the block build are maintained directly in the plugin source.
Installation
- Upload the
the-hits-listfolder to/wp-content/plugins/. - Activate The Hits List through the Plugins screen in WordPress.
- Go to Settings > The Hits List to configure tracking and display options.
- If Top 10 data is detected, use the import button on the settings screen to migrate existing counts.
- After importing and converting widgets, use Clean Up Top 10 to remove old Top 10 tables, options, transients, metadata, and cron hooks.
- Use Remove Top 10 Plugin to deactivate and delete the old plugin when you are ready.
Frequently asked questions
Does this send data to a third-party service?
No. The Hits List stores tracking data locally in your WordPress database and does not call a third-party analytics endpoint.
Can I migrate from Top 10?
Yes. The plugin can import compatible overall and daily counts from Top 10 tables. Imports are SQL-backed, resumable, and rerun-safe, so repeating the import does not double-count unchanged source data. Very large imports can be monitored from the settings screen or run through WP-CLI. If Top 10 is deactivated, existing Top 10 Popular Posts widgets can continue rendering through The Hits List using their saved settings, and the settings screen can convert those placements into native The Hits List widgets. After the import and widget conversion are complete, the settings screen also exposes…
How long is daily data kept?
Daily buckets are retained for 180 days by default. Older daily rows are pruned automatically by a scheduled cleanup task.
Changelog
1.4.0
- Added trending, which ranks posts by how fast views are rising relative to their own baseline rather than by total views. Available in the block, widget, shortcodes, template tags, and a new dashboard card.
- Added a Refresh Candidates dashboard card listing established posts whose readership has fallen away.
- Added period comparison to the views-over-time card, showing how the window compares with the one before it.
- Gave the block and widget the same capabilities. The block can now filter by category and post ID; the widget can now render grids and list markers.
- Made daily data retention configurable from the settings screen instead of filter-only.
- Added
[thl_list]and[thl_views]shortcodes, plus[tptn_list]and[tptn_views]aliases that only register when Top 10 has not claimed them, so migrating sites do not end up with broken shortcodes in post content. - Added CSV and JSON export of view counts.
- Batched popular-post count lookups so a list render no longer issues one database query per row.
- Added a filterable object cache over popular-post queries and post counts, with
thehili_cache_ttlto tune or disable it. - Primed post and term caches before rendering, removing further per-row queries when filtering by category.
- Removed the block and widget hour range control. The daily table stores one row per post per day, so an hour value could not narrow a window below a day and the range a reader actually got varied with the time of day. Saved values are still honoured.
1.3.02
- Added an explicit Clean Up Top 10 section on the settings screen for removing leftover Top 10 tables, options, transients, metadata, and cron hooks after migration.
- Added an explicit Remove Top 10 Plugin action that can deactivate/delete the old plugin and run one final cleanup pass.
- Added guardrails so cleanup is blocked until active Top 10 imports and placed legacy Top 10 widgets are handled.
- Added editor metabox controls for adjusting counts, excluding individual posts, suppressing popular lists on a post, and setting manual thumbnail URLs.
- Preserved legacy Top 10 per-post metabox flags when cleaning up old Top 10 metadata.
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 7.1 and aligned the block build toolchain with the 7.1 release.
1.3.01
- Added public post type selection to the Popular Posts block and widget.
- Added a legacy Top 10 widget compatibility bridge so existing
widget_tptn_popplacements keep rendering after Top 10 is deactivated. - Added a native Top 10 widget migrator that rewrites saved sidebar placements while preserving third-party widget metadata.
- Reworked Top 10 imports to run in resumable batches with status, progress, cancel/restart controls, diagnostics, and WP-CLI commands for large migrations.
- Reworked Top 10 import tracking to store large rerun state in database tables instead of oversized options.
- Improved Top 10 import error messages and asset cache busting in the admin UI.
- Added the
get_thl_posts()helper alias for older integration examples. - Avoided empty
.thl-metawrappers when all post meta display options are disabled. - Confirmed compatibility metadata for WordPress 7.0.
1.3.0
- Added WordPress dashboard cards for daily top posts, all-time top posts, and views over time.
- Added post list table columns for total, daily, and condensed view counts.
- Hardened public REST tracking and counter endpoints.
- Removed the legacy query-string tracking endpoint.
1.2.0
- Normalized tracking to use server-derived blog IDs and validated post targets.
- Reworked daily tracking into true site-local day buckets with upgrade migration support.
- Added rerun-safe Top 10 import state handling.
For developers
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FAQ
The Hits List: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 28, 2026
Is The Hits List free?
Yes. The Hits List is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is The Hits List safe to use in 2026?
The Hits List is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 62/100 on our health check.
How many websites use The Hits List?
The Hits List is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 386 times since it launched in May 2026. It was downloaded 73 times in the last 30 days.
Does The Hits List work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested The Hits List up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.2 or newer.
What PHP version does The Hits List need?
The Hits List requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was The Hits List last updated?
The latest version, 1.4.0, was released on August 23, 2026 (1 month ago).
Who makes The Hits List?
The Hits List is developed and maintained by Adam Greenwell.
What are the best alternatives to The Hits List?
The most popular alternatives to The Hits List are Spectra Legacy (1M+ installs), Kadence Blocks (600K+ installs) and Extendify (500K+ installs).
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