Are you seeing themes listed as “widget-ready ” but not sure what that means?
Widgets make it much easier to design your pages and posts. They help you edit and display visually stunning headers, footers, sidebars, and other areas of your website.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- What exactly is a widget-ready WordPress theme?
- Why do you want to use widgets?
- How to Use Widgets to Customize a WordPress Website
As usual, this tutorial includes colombia phone number library screenshots so it’s easy to follow along even if you’re completely new to WordPress.
What exactly is a widget-ready WordPress theme?
Most WordPress themes come with widget areas that allow you to manipulate these areas dynamically by dragging and dropping them with ease.
For example, a widget could be the search bar in the image below:
It can also be sidebar elements like Recent Posts, Recent Comments, and Categories.
Widgets are most commonly used in theme sidebars and footers. Since WordPress 2.2, widgets have become part of the “core” and are included in all new WordPress installations.
To make it easier for you to choose a widget-ready theme that works for your brand, we’ve rounded up the best WordPress themes for you.
Why would you want to use widgets?
You might want to use widgets because they make it much easier to change the sidebar (or other widgetized areas) of your WordPress site. Moving sidebar items, such as category/archive listings and blogroll links, can be done easily using a widget-ready theme.
Now that you know what widgets are and why you’d want to use them, let’s take a look at how to use widgets to customize your WordPress site .
Step 1: Check if your theme supports widgets
You cannot use widgets if the theme you are using does not support widgets.
If you are using the WordPress block editor/Gutenberg, you can easily access your site’s widget areas from your WordPress admin panel.
Navigate to the Appearance » Widgets tab and depending on the theme you are using, you will see options here such as header, footer, sidebar, and other widget-ready areas.
For example, the theme we are using only allows us to edit the footer. There is no option to edit the sidebar since the theme does not have a sidebar included.
Keep in mind that most themes are widget-ready these days. Unless you’re using a very old or basic theme, you may find that there are few or no widgets available.
That said, over time, developers have made sure to include the option for widgets.
Step 2: Default WordPress Widgets
In the Appearance » Widgets tab , you will see the same block editor interface for editing the header, footer, and sidebars.
We’ll be editing the sidebar for this tutorial. In the right menu, there’s a settings button that opens two submenus for editing widget area and block settings.
When you click the + sign at the top, it will open a new menu with blocks that you can drag and drop into the sidebar.
You can add headings, paragraphs, lists, quotes, images, galleries, and more. You can also reorder the list by simply dragging and dropping them wherever you want.
It’s very easy to use, but the customization options are limited.
Step 3: More widgets with other builders
With so many theme builders on the how to use augmented reality in marketing to engage more market, you can get a lot more widget options for your website. Let’s explore what the two top builders have to offer: SeedProd and Thrive Themes .
Custom Widgets with SeedProd
With SeedProd , when you choose a theme kit and activate it, the plugin automatically imports all the pages and widgets included in that theme.
You can use the toggle button to publish or unpublish with just one click. For now, let’s edit the sidebar to show the available options.
When you click the “Edit Design” button jiangxi mobile phone number list , the drag-and-drop builder will launch. What we like most about this builder is that you won’t have to edit and preview your design every time you make a change. You’ll see a preview of your design and can visually edit the widgetized areas.