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What a WordPress widget is and what it is used for

What a WordPress widget is and what it is used for

What is a WordPress widget?

A WordPress widget is an element that can be placed in certain spaces on your website, such as the sidebar or the footer.

There are many types of widgets: images, text, subscription forms, social network buttons, menus, categories, etc.

You don’t have to confuse them with plugins, which can be common at first.

We saw that plugins are tools that extend the functionality of WordPress, and in a way, widgets do too.

The difference is that widgets are like modules that are added to web spaces reserved for them.

Depending on the WordPress theme you’re using, these spaces can be one or the other, although in most themes, the sidebar and footer are two of them.

To find out in which areas of your website you can add widgets, you can go to “Appearance – Widgets”.

What widgets can I add to my website?

By default WordPress brings some widgets that you can add in any of the areas available on your website.

Although when you install some plugins they also give you the possibility to add them as widgets.

What is not an option is to install a widget as such, just like with plugins.

If you go to “Appearance – Widgets” you can see all the widgets you can add to your website.

In this image you can see all the widgets available in WordPress: files, search, calendar, categories, recent comments, etc.

But you can also see some widgets created by installing some plugins: CRFP top rated post, monarch follow and related posts pro.

How to add or remove widgets on my website

You can add and remove them at any time.

From “Appearance – Widgets” you can easily add or remove them. Just drag the widget to the area where you want it to appear and drop it on top.

To remove them, you can pick it up and drag it to the left. That’s it. Easy and for the whole family.

But there’s a better way to do that, where you can see live what your page will look like when you add or remove them.

You must click on “Appearance” and select “Customize”. Then click on “Widgets”.

There you will see the areas of your website where you can add them. All you have to do is click on “Add a widget” and choose the one you want from the list.

To remove it, click on “delete” and it will disappear.

As you add or delete widgets, you’ll see live changes to your website, so this is my preferred way to add new widgets.