Honestly? I’m not a big fan of snowfall animations on websites. However, a festive plugin that does exactly that has spontaneously made its way onto our Advent calendar list.

This plugin by Felix Arntz is called Snow Fall and is so new that it hasn’t even been added to the official plugin directory on WordPress.org yet. However, you can download a working version from the plugin’s GitHub repository.

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This post is part of our advent of plugins 2024.

Anyone maintaining a blog for years, constantly publishing new content, and writing about current events or world affairs may be familiar with the problem: content ages and, after one, three, or perhaps five years, no longer holds the same relevance as it did at the time of publication.
Simply deleting content is not a viable option for most. This would break backlinks from other sites and social media and contradict the log aspect of a (we)blog. And, at least for me, there is some pride in the public archive of my work.

Enter: Aged Content Message

Apart from the publication date, blogs offer little indication that a post might be older content. This is why, ten years ago, Caspar Hübinger launched the Aged Content Message plugin, which Torsten Landsiedel has maintained since last year.

The plugin’s functionality can be easily summarized: it displays a notification box above every post exceeding a certain age. Equipped with default content and styling, almost every aspect of Aged Content Message’s behavior can be customized by an admin.

Configuration

After installing the plugin directly from the plugin directory on WordPress.org. You can go ahead and activate it. A quick visit to the settings is required. These can be found under Settings – Aged Content.

On this settings page, you can not only adjust the text displayed in the box above older content but also, if needed, modify the HTML and CSS of the box directly.

It is also important to check the box labeled “Activate Message” at the top of the page. Only then will the plugin take action and add the boxes to older blog posts as desired.

Conclusion

According to WordPress.org, Aged Content Message has yet to be officially tested with WordPress 6.7. But my tests worked without any issues. For all the plugins we are featuring in our Advent calendar this year, we would be delighted if we could support the developers with excellent reviews on WordPress.org. It’s your chance to make someone’s day.