WordPress News Aggregator | No RSS Required
On WordPress
News Aggregator is a way to quickly import RSS feeds, build a news aggregator, and for easy autoblogging. But all WordPress websites may not enable RSS Feeds. Here is the Code to fetch Title + Thumbnail + Excerpt from any WordPress website. Most interesting part is, you will never require RSS Feed.
You just need to paste the code as an HTML Widget anywhere in WordPress. It means even Joomla, BlogSpot, Drupal or HTML websites are now capable of showing WordPress post excerpts.
Live Preview from Review of 193 Constitutions - a WordPress website
Loading ...
Paste-ready Code
<div id="posts-container">Loading ...</div>
<div id="pagination" class="pagination"></div>
<style>
/* WordPress News Aggregator Styles */
.pagination {
margin: 30px 0;
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
align-items: center;
flex-wrap: wrap;
gap: 5px;
}
.page-btn {
padding: 8px 12px;
margin: 0 2px;
border: 1px solid #ddd;
background: white;
cursor: pointer;
border-radius: 3px;
}
.page-btn:hover:not(:disabled):not(.current-page) {
background: #0066FF;
color: white;
border-color: #0066FF;
}
.page-btn:disabled {
opacity: 0.5;
cursor: not-allowed;
}
.page-btn.current-page {
background: #0066FF;
color: white;
border-color: #0066FF;
}
.wordpress-post {
margin: 30px 0;
padding: 20px 0;
border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;
text-align:justify;
}
.wordpress-post-title {
margin: 0 0 15px 0;
font-size: 1.5em;
}
.wordpress-post-title a {
text-decoration: none;
}
.wordpress-post-title a:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
}
.wordpress-post-thumbnail {
float: left;
margin: 0 20px 10px 0;
max-width: 150px;
height: auto;
}
.wordpress-post-thumbnail img {
width: 100%;
height: auto;
display: block;
border-radius: 4px;
}
.wordpress-post-excerpt {
margin: 10px 0;
line-height: 1.6;
}
.wordpress-post-read-more {
display: inline-block;
margin-top: 10px;
text-decoration: none;
font-weight: 500;
}
.wordpress-post-read-more:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
}
.clearfix::after {
content: "";
display: table;
clear: both;
}
</style>
<script>
// WordPress News Aggregator
// developed by Tawhidur Rahman Dear, https://www.tawhidurrahmandear.com
// Live Preview available at https://www.devilhunter.net/2026/01/wordpress-news-aggregator.html
// ==============================
// CONFIGURATION SETTINGS
// ==============================
const BLOG = 'reviewofconstitutions.wordpress.com'; // CHANGE TO YOUR BLOG ADDRESS
const POSTS_PER_PAGE = 20; // Posts to show per page
const TOTAL_MAX_POSTS = 200; // Maximum total posts to fetch (set to high number for all posts)
const SHOW_THUMBNAILS = true; // true = show thumbnails, false = hide thumbnails
const SORT_ORDER = 'desc'; // 'asc' = oldest first, 'desc' = newest first
// ==============================
let allPosts = [];
let currentPage = 1;
let totalPages = 1;
async function loadAllPosts() {
document.getElementById("posts-container").innerHTML = "Loading ...";
let page = 1;
allPosts = [];
try {
while (true) {
// Stop if we've reached the maximum posts limit
if (allPosts.length >= TOTAL_MAX_POSTS) {
allPosts = allPosts.slice(0, TOTAL_MAX_POSTS);
break;
}
// Calculate how many posts to fetch in this batch
const remainingPosts = TOTAL_MAX_POSTS - allPosts.length;
const fetchCount = Math.min(100, remainingPosts);
// Fetch posts from WordPress.com API
const res = await fetch(
"https://public-api.wordpress.com/rest/v1.1/sites/" + BLOG + "/posts?number=" + fetchCount + "&page=" + page
);
const data = await res.json();
if (!data.posts || data.posts.length === 0) break;
allPosts.push(...data.posts);
// Break if we got fewer posts than requested (reached end)
if (data.posts.length < fetchCount) break;
page++;
// Update loading message
document.getElementById("posts-container").innerHTML =
"Loaded ...";
// Small delay to avoid overwhelming the API
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 200));
// Break if we've reached the maximum
if (allPosts.length >= TOTAL_MAX_POSTS) {
allPosts = allPosts.slice(0, TOTAL_MAX_POSTS);
break;
}
}
// Sort posts by date based on config
sortPostsByDate(SORT_ORDER);
} catch (error) {
console.error("WordPress.com API error, trying WordPress.org...", error);
// Try WordPress.org REST API
tryWordPressOrgAPI();
}
}
// Try WordPress.org REST API
async function tryWordPressOrgAPI() {
try {
document.getElementById("posts-container").innerHTML = "Trying WordPress.org API...";
allPosts = [];
let page = 1;
while (allPosts.length < TOTAL_MAX_POSTS) {
// Calculate how many posts to fetch
const remainingPosts = TOTAL_MAX_POSTS - allPosts.length;
const fetchCount = Math.min(100, remainingPosts);
// Try to get posts from WordPress.org REST API
const res = await fetch(
window.location.origin + "/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?per_page=" + fetchCount + "&page=" + page
);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error("HTTP error! status: " + res.status);
const posts = await res.json();
if (!posts || posts.length === 0) break;
// Convert WordPress.org format to match WordPress.com format
const convertedPosts = await Promise.all(posts.map(async (post) => {
let featuredImageUrl = "";
let firstImageFromContent = "";
// Try to get featured image first
if (post.featured_media) {
try {
const mediaRes = await fetch(
window.location.origin + "/wp-json/wp/v2/media/" + post.featured_media
);
if (mediaRes.ok) {
const mediaData = await mediaRes.json();
featuredImageUrl = mediaData.source_url || "";
}
} catch (e) {
console.warn("Could not fetch featured image:", e);
}
}
// If no featured image, try to extract first image from content
if (!featuredImageUrl && post.content && post.content.rendered) {
const imgMatch = post.content.rendered.match(/<img[^>]+src="([^">]+)"/);
if (imgMatch && imgMatch[1]) {
firstImageFromContent = imgMatch[1];
}
}
return {
title: post.title.rendered,
excerpt: post.excerpt.rendered,
content: post.content.rendered,
URL: post.link,
featured_image: featuredImageUrl ? {
URL: featuredImageUrl
} : null,
first_image: firstImageFromContent,
date: post.date
};
}));
allPosts.push(...convertedPosts);
if (posts.length < fetchCount) break;
page++;
// Update loading message
document.getElementById("posts-container").innerHTML =
"Loaded " + allPosts.length + " posts...";
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 200));
}
// Limit to maximum posts
if (allPosts.length > TOTAL_MAX_POSTS) {
allPosts = allPosts.slice(0, TOTAL_MAX_POSTS);
}
// Sort posts by date based on config
sortPostsByDate(SORT_ORDER);
} catch (error) {
console.error("WordPress.org API also failed:", error);
document.getElementById("posts-container").innerHTML =
"<p style='color: red;'>Error loading posts. Please check your blog URL and CORS settings.</p>" +
"<p>Make sure to update the BLOG address in the configuration section.</p>";
}
}
// Extract first image from post content (for WordPress.com posts)
function extractFirstImageFromContent(content) {
if (!content) return "";
// Look for image tags in the content
const imgMatch = content.match(/<img[^>]+src="([^">]+)"/);
return imgMatch && imgMatch[1] ? imgMatch[1] : "";
}
// Sort posts by publish date
function sortPostsByDate(order) {
if (allPosts.length === 0) return;
// Sort the array by date
allPosts.sort((a, b) => {
const dateA = new Date(a.date);
const dateB = new Date(b.date);
if (order === "asc") {
return dateA - dateB; // Oldest first
} else {
return dateB - dateA; // Newest first
}
});
// Reset to page 1 and display
currentPage = 1;
displayPage();
}
// Get excerpt (plain text, max 200 characters)
function getExcerpt(content, maxLength = 200) {
if (!content) return "";
// Remove HTML tags
let text = content.replace(/<[^>]*>/g, "");
// Decode HTML entities
const textArea = document.createElement("textarea");
textArea.innerHTML = text;
text = textArea.value;
// Trim and limit length
text = text.trim();
if (text.length > maxLength) {
text = text.substring(0, maxLength) + "...";
}
return text;
}
// Display current page
function displayPage() {
const start = (currentPage - 1) * POSTS_PER_PAGE;
const end = start + POSTS_PER_PAGE;
const pagePosts = allPosts.slice(start, end);
let html = "";
pagePosts.forEach(post => {
// Get image URL - check in order: featured image, first_image from content
let imageUrl = "";
if (SHOW_THUMBNAILS) {
// For WordPress.com posts
if (post.featured_image && post.featured_image.URL) {
imageUrl = post.featured_image.URL;
}
// For WordPress.org converted posts with featured image
else if (post.featured_image && typeof post.featured_image === "string") {
imageUrl = post.featured_image;
}
// For WordPress.com posts - extract first image from content
else if (post.content) {
imageUrl = extractFirstImageFromContent(post.content);
}
// For WordPress.org converted posts with first_image
else if (post.first_image) {
imageUrl = post.first_image;
}
}
// Generate thumbnail HTML if we have an image
let thumbnailHtml = "";
if (imageUrl) {
thumbnailHtml =
"<div class='wordpress-post-thumbnail'>" +
"<img src='" + imageUrl + "' alt='" + post.title + "' onerror='this.style.display=\"none\"'>" +
"</div>";
}
// Get excerpt
let excerpt = "";
if (post.excerpt) {
excerpt = getExcerpt(post.excerpt);
} else if (post.content) {
excerpt = getExcerpt(post.content);
}
html +=
"<div class='wordpress-post clearfix'>" +
"<h3 class='wordpress-post-title'>" +
"<a href='" + post.URL + "' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>" + post.title + "</a>" +
"</h3>" +
thumbnailHtml +
(excerpt ? "<div class='wordpress-post-excerpt'>" + excerpt + "</div>" : "") +
"<a href='" + post.URL + "' class='wordpress-post-read-more' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Read More ... </a>" +
"</div>";
});
document.getElementById("posts-container").innerHTML = html;
updatePagination();
}
// Update pagination buttons
function updatePagination() {
totalPages = Math.ceil(allPosts.length / POSTS_PER_PAGE);
const pagination = document.getElementById("pagination");
let html = "";
if (totalPages > 1) {
// Previous button
html += "<button class='page-btn' onclick='changePage(" + (currentPage - 1) + ")' " +
(currentPage === 1 ? "disabled" : "") + ">◀</button>";
// Page numbers
for (let i = 1; i <= totalPages; i++) {
if (i === currentPage) {
html += "<button class='page-btn current-page'>" + i + "</button>";
} else if (i === 1 || i === totalPages ||
(i >= currentPage - 2 && i <= currentPage + 2)) {
html += "<button class='page-btn' onclick='changePage(" + i + ")'>" + i + "</button>";
} else if (i === currentPage - 3 || i === currentPage + 3) {
html += "<span style='padding: 8px 5px;'>...</span>";
}
}
// Next button
html += "<button class='page-btn' onclick='changePage(" + (currentPage + 1) + ")' " +
(currentPage === totalPages ? "disabled" : "") + ">▶</button>";
}
pagination.innerHTML = html;
}
// Change page
function changePage(page) {
if (page < 1 || page > totalPages) return;
currentPage = page;
displayPage();
window.scrollTo(0, 0);
}
// Start loading when page loads
document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", loadAllPosts);
</script>How to config?
If you know CSS, then you can change the whole appearance easily. If you don't edit too much, it should match your Website's Theme automatically.
At the top of JavaScript Code, change the website address with others according to your requirements, and there are comments to guide you.
- const BLOG
- const POSTS_PER_PAGE
- const TOTAL_MAX_POSTS
- const SHOW_THUMBNAILS
- const SORT_ORDER
Are you breaking Copyright laws?
Copyright laws around Globe regarding excerpts allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, etc.
Key factors for Fair Use:
- Effect on market: Shouldn't harm the original's commercial value.
- Blog posts/articles: 200 characters (around 30 words) is generally safe.
- Always link back to the original source.
- Include attribution when possible.
- Don't take the "heart" of the work.
Current Code Status:
Your code uses maxLength = 200 (characters), which is safe.
Thanks ...
