Multiple Category Selection Widget
Filter posts by selecting multiple categories using dropdown menus. Available as a widget, block, or shortcode.
2.9(14 reviews)
·100 active installs·Updated 1 month agoAs of April 2026, Multiple Category Selection Widget is a WordPress post plugin with 100 active installations and a 2.9/5 rating from 14 reviews. It has been downloaded 77K+ times in total. Requires WordPress 6.0+ and PHP 7.4+. Available on WordPress.org since 2008. Recently updated within the last 3 months. Top alternative: Post Type Switcher.
2.9/514 reviews
100active installs
77K+total downloads
18 yearssince 2008
Overview
Turn your WordPress post categories into a search powerhouse! This plugin gives you a set of dropdown menus based on parent categories and their sub-categories. Users select one sub-category per parent, and the plugin filters posts matching the selected combination.
Available as:
- Gutenberg Block — “Multi-Category Filter” in the block inserter (new in v4)
- Classic Widget — “Multi-Category Selection” in Appearance > Widgets
- Shortcode —
[mcsw]on any page or post
Features:
- AND / OR category filtering — find posts matching ALL or ANY selected categories
- AJAX chained drilldown — selecting a parent dynamically loads its children
- Pretty permalink URLs (
/categories/3,5/search_type/and/order/title/) - Ordering by title or default
- Configurable blank search behavior
- Exclud…
Ratings & Reviews
2.914 reviews
5 ★
5
4 ★
1
3 ★
1
2 ★
1
1 ★
6
Compatibility
| WordPress | 6.0+ requiredTested up to 6.9.4 |
| PHP | 7.4+ required |
Top Alternatives to Multiple Category Selection Widget
Frequently Asked Questions
Changelog
4.0.0
- New: Gutenberg block — “Multi-Category Filter” available in the block editor
- New: Lightweight CSS file with clean BEM-style classes
- Removed: PHP sessions — all search state now carried in URL query parameters
- Removed: jQuery dependency — AJAX chaining rewritten in vanilla JavaScript
- Fixed: AJAX chaining now sends the nonce (was broken since v3.2.0)
…and 7 more changes
Contributors
Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Analysis and metrics by PluginSift.