Download Random Post Box from WordPress.org
See the plugin in use on Retrocamera.net (the little box below the first post).

Random Post Box is a WordPress plugin. It will let you place a box (div) anywhere on your blog, with templatetag or shortcode, and load random posts with an interval and fade effect. It uses jQuery (Ajax) which means that the content is loaded without loading the rest of the page. The timing can be controlled in the Admin Options-panel.

The template tag is <?php random_post_box(); ?>. You can also use the shortcode [random-post-box] in a page or post.

Features

• Insert placeholder with template tag
• Insert placeholder with shortcode
• Set time for displaying the post
• Set times for fade in and fade out affect
• Exclude or include posts by category
• Exclude posts by age (in days)
• Use title only
• Use post excerpt or bodycontent
• Strip tags from body
• Show/hide post metadata
• Prepared for translation

Installation

The installation is like mosts plugins:

1. Download and extract the files
2. Upload `random-post-box` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
3. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
4. Place `<?php random_post_box(); ?>` in your templates, or [random-post-box] in a page or post.

The install doesn’t touch the database much, it just adds one option post.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an option to display several posts?
Not at the moment, but it might be included in future versions. It’s not recommended to use the
template tag several times on the same page.

How can I style the box?
The box is a div with id “random-post-box”, and the markup inside is quite similar to the
default theme.

The box changes size when loading a new post
You need to set the size to something static with CSS, or use some means to control the size. Use the id “random-post-box” as described
in the previous answer.