What are Widgets? Why You Need to Use Widgets in WordPress?
Widgets are tiny blocks of specific functionality that you can place in your WordPress sidebars (also known as widget-ready-areas). For beginners, this is an easy way to add things like galleries, quotes, popular posts, facebook like boxes, and other dynamic items on their WordPress site.
Widgets can be found on Appearance » Widgets page in your WordPress admin area.
You will see the widgets that you can add under the list of available widgets.
On your right hand, you will find the designated areas on your WordPress site where you can place these widgets. These designated areas are defined by your WordPress theme. They are called sidebars or widget-ready areas.
If you don’t see a specific widget you’re looking for, then it can likely be added with a plugin (more on this later).
Adding Widget to a Sidebar in WordPress
There are multiple ways to add widgets to sidebars available in your WordPress theme. The easiest one is to simply drag and drop them to your sidebar.
You can also click on a widget title from the list of available widget. WordPress will show you the list of sidebars where you can add this widget.
Simply select the sidebar where you want to add the widget, and then click on Add widget button to add it.
There is also an accessibility mode for users who need it. To enable accessibility mode, you need to click on the Screen Options button at the top right corner of the screen.
It will display a fly down menu with a link to enable accessibility mode for widgets screen. Clicking on it will change the user interface of the widgets screen.
Each available widget will now have a simple ‘Add’ button. clicking on the button will take you to an accessible screen where you can easily select the sidebar.
The widgets page is not the only way to add widgets to your WordPress site. You can also add widgets using the live preview by visiting Appearance » Customize.
It’s important to note that not all of your widget-ready areas and sidebars will appear in the customizer. This is why we recommend using the Appearance » Widgets screen to add widgets in WordPress.
How to Remove a Widget in WordPress?
Removing a widget in WordPress is just as simple as adding them. Visit the Appearance » Widgets page.
Look for the widget that you want to remove in your sidebars and click on the widget title to expand it.
Below the widget settings, you will find the link to delete the widget. Deleting a widget will remove it from your sidebar and will also delete widget settings like title or any options that you selected.
Some widgets are too simple and don’t have many options in their settings while others have many options and settings. If you would like to remove a widget without losing the settings, then you need to drag and drop it to the inactive widgets section.
Deleting or sending a widget to inactive widgets does not remove it from the list of available widgets. You can always add a widget again from the list of available widgets or inactive widgets.