WordPress widgets are additional features you can increase the header, sidebar and footer of your website. Some examples of widgets include search bars, text boxes and movie players, even though there are many more supplied by third party programmers. Widgets are added with a simple drag-and-drop tool on the Appearance menu.
WordPress Widgets menu: In this case, a calendar widget has been added to the website sidebar.
Widgets must be added to a predefined place, known as a widget place. These differ from theme to theme but typically include things like header, sidebar and footer areas. In the case above, there are also special widget areas for a subscription form, an e-commerce sidebar along with a”top” menu bar.
WordPress Widgets Cases
Following are a few examples of popular WordPress widgets. You can add many more by installing fresh plug-ins.
- Audio: Displays an audio player
- Gallery: Shows a picture gallery
- Custom HTML: Produce customized features and articles with HTML
- Recent posts: A list of your website’s latest blog posts
- Lookup : An internet search bar for your website
- Video: Displays a video in the networking library or from YouTube or Vimeo
How to Get Widgets Menu
- Log in to the WordPress admin area
- About the sidebar, hover over Appearance and click on Widgets.
This will bring you to the widget menu, where you can add widgets you have already installed to your website.
Notice: If you do not see”Widgets” instead under”Appearance,” it signifies your current theme doesn’t support any widget places, meaning there isn’t any way to add widgets to your site. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to change topics on WordPress, or you can use custom code to add widget places to a motif.
How to Use the Widget Menu
Drag-and-drop Widgets menu: Click on a widget on the left side , and drag it to a place on the rightside.
To the left are the available widgets you can enhance your website. By default, this includes text boxes, photographs, audio players, video players, calendars, search bar, and more. You’re able to add even more widgets by installing fresh plug-ins, which we explain further down.
On the right are the available widget areas — predefined places, coded into your motif, that allow the placement of widgets. Each area corresponds to another part of your site, such as the sidebar, footer, top bar, and so on.
To include a new widget, simply select one from the left column, and then drag it to the right. To reorder widgets within a menu, simply drag and drop.
How to Install New WordPress Widgets
You can get access to more widgets by installing fresh plug-ins to your WordPress website. For instance, The Food and Beverage Menu plug-in allows you to design a menu, add it — or segments of it as a widget. Other examples include email signup forms which integrate with your email marketing system or an e-commerce widget that shows related goods.
Simply speaking, there are an infinite number of ways that you can enhance your website with widgets. On the other hand, the initial step is to locate a plug-in that will provide this operation.
To set up new plug-ins:
- On the sidebar, hover over”Plug-ins” and click”Add New.”
- Enter keywords from the top-right search box.
- Find a plug-in you desire to try and click on”Install Now.”
- Once done, click”Activate.”
To find out more about plug-ins, including examples, pricing and more detailed directions, check out our full manual to WordPress plug-ins.
The Bottom Line
There are various schools of thought when it comes to widgets. Undoubtedly, they are a handy method to personalize your website. Not only are you able to add unique new features but also you can control exactly where they look. On the other hand, a lot of widgets can crowd your site and make your website load slower. It’s ideal to use them sparingly and select only for the ones that add the most value to your site.
The WordPress themes made by us Fit Small Business, including Fit Web Themes Business Edition, Restaurant Edition and Salon Edition, don’t currently support widgets. Instead, they include all of the essential website features directly in your own site. We designed it this way to save users time and also to keep sites running smooth. Should you decide you’d like to add widgets, however, you can do so by copying and copy a few lines of code to your website.
