How to Add a Widget Area to Any WordPress Theme?

4382

Writing codes is essential for programmers and developers for the development and maintenance of WordPress websites. But you can equip the sidebars of WP sites with additional features and functionalities without coding. Whether you wish to convert website to WordPress or build a website in WordPress, you can do it by including widgets.

Wondering how to add a widget to your existing WordPress site with finesse? Read on to find it out.

 Why consider using a widget?

Before proceeding any further, you may want to know the rationale behind using a widget with WordPress sidebars. To understand it, you need to pay attention to the importance of the latter. You can use WP sidebars to add additional functionalities. Using a widget is a simple and easy way to do it.

 Where should you look for a widget?

To find widgets, the first thing you need to do is navigate to the admin area. On the dashboard, you will come across several options below “Dashboard.” Click on the option “appearance,” and after that, you can see widgets.

Advertisement

 This move will show you a wide range of widget options. You can choose the option of your choice.

 On the right side, you can also see the designated areas. These are the spaces to house the widgets. As far as the position of these designated areas is concerned, it is defined by a theme.

 Sometimes you may not see a widget that you are looking for. In such cases, you can try out other methods, such as looking for it in a plugin.

 What kinds of widgets can you use on a WordPress website?

When you install a WordPress theme, it comes with several built-in widgets. These widgets can be viewed and used without much effort. However, it is also essential to understand that some widgets also have independent plugins.

 You can see all the widgets in the admin section. If you are not able to see a widget in this section, it may be due to the fact that it operates with a plugin of its own. After determining it, you need to go to the plugin to find out the widget.

 How to add a widget to a sidebar in WordPress

To begin with, you can explore a wide range of possibilities to include sidebars in a widget. Out of all the available options, using the “drag and drop” option is the easiest way to do it.

 After that, you can click on the list of the widgets to find a list of the sidebars. You can add a widget to the list. When you click on the sidebar, you will see the option to add a widget. You can add the widget of your choice by using this option.

 While you can add a widget from its designated page, it is not the only option to accomplish this task. You can also try out the other options that are equally easy such as navigating to “Appearance.” After that, you need to go to “customize.”

 In the customizer section, you will get to see all the available options sidebars and widgets that are ready for use.

 How to exclude widgets

Just as there is the proper way of adding widgets to the sidebars in WordPress, there are also ways to remove them. And the best part is that you can do it without putting much effort.

 To do it, you need to navigate to the page with the available widgets. After that, you need to choose the widget that you wish to remove. Click on the title of the widget. After this step, you will be able to see the option using which you can delete the widget. You need to follow the same procedure to delete the existing widgets.

Some widgets have numerous options, whereas others do not have too many options. Once you delete a widget, you will automatically delete all the other options connected to it. That is to say; the option to delete widgets is also the default option to remove all the settings connected to it.

 If you do not want a widget to feature on the list of the available widget but don’t want its settings to be removed, you can send it to the section of inactive widgets. This move will enable you to remove the widgets from the existing list without deleting its settings.

 Final thoughts

Adding a widget is essential from the standpoint of boosting the usefulness of a WordPress website. Due to this reason, widgets occupy an essential place in WordPress development services. Follow the steps above to add or remove a widget according to your needs. Now that you know how to go about it, try out the steps and see how they work for you.