Collapsing Archives

by robfelty

View on WordPress.org

73 Quality Score

Active Installs

16/30

With only 3,000 active installs and a low raw popularity score, this is a niche plugin rather than a mainstream choice.

Update Freshness

23/25

The plugin was last updated on February 12, 2026, and is confirmed compatible with WordPress 6.9.4, indicating an actively maintained codebase.

User Rating

12/15

A rating of 82 out of 100 from 21 users suggests generally positive feedback, though the small sample size limits confidence.

Support Health

8/15

There are zero support threads, which means either users rarely need help or have nowhere to turn when issues arise.

WP Compatibility

15/15

It requires only WordPress 2.8 or higher and has no stated PHP requirement, making it compatible with essentially any modern WordPress environment.

Scores higher than 31% of indexed plugins

About

This plugin uses Javascript to dynamically expand or collapse the set of months for each year and posts for each month in the archive listing of your …

Active Installs 3k+

Rating ★★★★ 4.1/5

Last Updated 2026-02-12 3:41am GMT

Requires WordPress 2.8+

Tested Up To 6.9.7

Security History

2 known vulnerabilities, all patched

2 Medium

Most recent: February 16, 2026

View details ▸

What It Does

Collapsing Archives adds a sidebar widget that displays your site's post archives in a hierarchical, year-then-month format that users can expand and collapse using JavaScript. It keeps long archive lists compact by default, showing only years until a visitor clicks to reveal individual months and posts. The widget is straightforward to drop into any widget-ready area without configuration headaches.

Who It's For

This plugin is ideal for blogs, news sites, and publications with years of monthly content where a flat archive list would overwhelm the sidebar. It also suits documentation sites, research institutions, and portfolio archives where visitors benefit from browsing content by time period without page reloads.

Who Should Skip It

If your site has fewer than a few dozen posts, a simple monthly or yearly list will serve you just as well without the JavaScript overhead. Sites that prefer Gutenberg block-based widgets or already use a full archive block from their theme should skip this classic widget-era tool.

The Bottom Line

Collapsing Archives does one specific job competently and stays out of your way, but its tiny install base and lack of any support threads make it a harder recommendation compared to theme-integrated archive blocks. It earns a 75.37 overall quality score, which is solid but not outstanding, and it is best suited to long-running blogs that want a proven, low-fuss archive widget without block-editor dependencies.

Related Plugins

Widgets for Google Reviews 94/100

Choose this if your priority is displaying Google Reviews rather than collapsing post archives, as it serves an entirely different purpose.

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 90/100

Pick this if you need a richer Google Reviews display widget, which again is unrelated to archive navigation.

WP Popular Posts 89/100

Select this if you want to showcase popular posts by views or comments rather than chronological archives.

Blocksy Companion 86/100

Choose this if you use the Blocksy theme and need a broader companion plugin that includes widgets and block enhancements beyond archives.

Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 86/100

Pick this if you need a rich text editor widget rather than a collapsing archive listing.