How to use WordPress Widgets

This is the fourth article of our  Series: From Zero to WordPress Rockstar where we will take a look at those so-called widgets and what you can do with them.

What are WordPress Widgets

WordPress comes with some standard widgets ready to use. Widgets are a way to place various elements to so-called Widget Areas, which basically are reserved spaces in your theme where you can add those widgets. Almost all modern themes come with at least one widget area which is, in most cases, called the Sidebar. If you can see the menu entry Widgets under Appearance then congratulations, you have a widget ready WordPress theme.

Where can i get Widgets

As already mentioned, WordPress comes with some standard widgets which are installed by default. If you want or need different widgets you can search over at WordPress.org if there is a plugin/widget available. If you have no luck you might need to create it yourself or hire a freelancer to create you a widget with your desired functionality. Creating a widget is not hard, but you do have to know PHP, html and the WordPress API to create it.

The WordPress default Widgets

WordPress comes with some pretty useful default widgets installed, which you can see when heading over to Widgets under Appearance in your WordPress admin menu. Let’s have a quick look on the default widgets:

• Archives - This is a simple widget that shows the Archives of your posts by month. By default this is a unordered list but can be displayed as dropdown and with post count too.
• Calendar - Just as the name says, this will add a simple calendar to your site.
• Categories - Adds an unordered list of your categories to your site. Optionally as dropdown, with post count and with hierarchy.
• Custom Menu - WordPress has a feature called “Custom Menus” – which we will discuss in a different article – and this widget is there to place a custom menu on your site.
• Links - Displays the blogroll (a list of other websites).
• Meta - Adds links to Log in/Log out, admin, feed and WordPress sites.
• Pages - Shows a list of all your Pages you created in WordPress. Options to use are how to sort the links (By Title, Page ID or Page order) and which pages to exclude from the list.
• Recent Comments - Displays the most recent comments. The number of comments to display is configurable.
• Recent Posts - Same as Recent Comments for Posts.
• RSS - Shows the content of any RSS or ATOM feed.
• Search - Displays a search form.
• Tag Cloud - Shows a cloud of Tags or Categories.
• Text - Adds a block of text to the site, HTML is allowed.

How do use WordPress Widgets

As already mentioned, you can find the widgets page under Appearance -> Widgets in your WordPress admin menu. Now using widgets could not be any easier. Locate the widget area you want to add a widget on the right side of the screen and click on it so it expands. Now click and hold any of the widgets to the left and drag it over to the expanded area of your sidebar and release it. The Widget now will be placed in the sidebar and it’s options are shown. Configure it as you wish and hit the Save button.

To delete a widget you can drag the widget from the widget area on the right back to the Available Widgets box on the left.

To delete a widget but keep the settings, drag the widget from the widget area on the right to the Inactive Widgets box on the left.

That’s already everything you need to know on how to use widgets. Developing widgets is a very different thing and shall be covered on a later article.

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