YARPP Related Posts WordPress Plugin – Features & Review | WPWizzy

YARPP requires its relatedness cache table to be built before displaying results. On a fresh installation, go to the YARPP settings and look for an option to rebuild the cache or index. On sites with many posts, this process can take several minutes. If the cache has been built but no related posts appear, lower the minimum score threshold in the settings — the default threshold may be too strict for your content and returning no matches that meet the minimum score.

Poor match quality usually means the content does not have enough overlap in title, tags, categories, or body text with other posts. Check whether your posts are consistently tagged and categorised. Increase the weight given to tags and categories in the YARPP settings if your taxonomy is more reliable than your content body for indicating topic. Also check whether the pool of posts YARPP is matching against is large enough — a site with few posts will have limited match quality regardless of the algorithm.

YARPP creates and maintains its own database table for the relatedness cache. On very large archives, this table can grow significantly. Database errors during the cache rebuild process can occur on shared hosting with strict query timeout limits. If YARPP is causing performance issues, check the size of the yarpp_related table in phpMyAdmin and look for slow query logs. Consider rebuilding the cache during low-traffic periods. If problems persist, Contact hosting support about query timeout limits.

YARPP supports custom display templates. In the plugin settings under Display Options, select the Custom Template option and specify a template file. Create the template file in your child theme directory following the YARPP template format — the plugin documentation shows the available template variables. For basic styling changes without a custom template, target the YARPP output CSS classes in Appearance, then Customise, then Additional CSS.

Yes. In the YARPP settings under Relatedness, you can configure which post types are included in the related posts pool. Add your custom post type to the list of post types YARPP should consider for matching. You can also configure whether the plugin shows related posts on custom post type single pages, not just standard posts. After changing post type settings, rebuild the YARPP cache so it includes the new post type content in its scoring.

Jetpack Related Posts uses a cloud-based algorithm that analyses content on Automattic’s servers and can produce strong semantic matches. YARPP runs its analysis locally using a scoring table in your own database. Jetpack adds overhead because it requires a WordPress.com connection and loads external JavaScript. YARPP is self-contained but requires database storage for the cache table. Both produce comparable match quality on well-structured content. YARPP is the better choice for sites that want no external dependencies.

Yes. YARPP provides a Gutenberg block for placing related posts within content. The YARPP block can be added anywhere in a post using the block editor. Automatic injection after content also works without using the block. The shortcode option is available for classic editor usage.

Three to five related posts is the typical range. YARPP defaults to five. Fewer than three gives readers limited navigation options. More than six starts to look like a list rather than recommendations and can distract from calls to action below the post. Set the number based on how your theme renders the related posts grid and how it looks on mobile where columns stack.

YARPP does not have a built-in post exclusion list in the free version. To exclude specific posts, you can filter the YARPP results using the yarpp_result filter hook in your child theme functions.php. To exclude posts from a specific category, adjust the YARPP settings to exclude that category from the matching pool. After changing exclusion settings, rebuild the YARPP cache for the changes to take effect.