Take you e'er started designing a page on your website and found that some pieces of information just didn't flow well together?

Calls to action, biographies, and social media feeds are but a few oddball elements that don't have enough substance to warrant their own webpages, but don't always play nicely with the content on existing pages either. Nevertheless, these elements are important for giving context to your content, enriching the user feel (UX), and converting visitors to leads.

Rather than omitting these components altogether for the sake of design, you tin can continue them on the page while maintaining a beautiful UX.

The solution? WordPress widgets.

Download Now: How to Launch a WordPress Website  [Free Guide + Checklist] This post will go over what a WordPress widget is, their benefits, and how to add together one to your website. We'll also give you some nifty plugin options that help you easily heighten your widgets, also as pace-by-step instructions on how to maximize their functionalities.

You can add a widget for nearly anything from a lead form to your concern'south alive Twitter feed. Take a wait at this chart for more than types of widgets yous tin add to your website.

  • Image Gallery
  • Social Media Feed
  • Atomic number 82 Form
  • Featured Web log Post
  • Navigation Carte du jour
  • Writer Bio
  • Video
  • Electronic mail Subscribe Form

WordPress automatically comes with a wide selection of widgets, but you tin always add more using plugins.

And hither's an example of what a agenda widget looks like in the sidebar of a WordPress website:

Calendar widget in a sidebar on a website

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Why Add a Widget to a WordPress Page or Post?

Calculation specific, yet relevant content to a webpage is just one reason to add together a widget to a page or mail service on your WordPress site. There are several other opportunities that your website might be missing that a widget could bring to the pages.

  • Improved navigation: You can add boosted menus in a sidebar that tin can assist your users navigate that folio or the entire site.
  • Advertisement Opportunities: If you're running advertisements on your WordPress site, you'll find that adding a widget to your sidebar and footer specifically for this purpose is primal to balancing your user experience and your ad revenue.
  • Additional Content: New blog posts, evergreen content, and express-fourth dimension offers are some examples of boosted content that may have their own pages on your site, but could use some boosted promotion to your readers. Calculation these content types as widgets in a sidebar is a smart way to get them front-and-center without appearing distracting.

How to Add a Widget in WordPress

Widgets are a native WordPress feature, so y'all tin add them without any additional plugins or third-party tools. There are two ways to add a widget natively in WordPress — using the drag and drop characteristic or selecting a sidebar or footer from the widget drop-down. Both methods are demonstrated in the gif beneath.

  • Become to Advent , then Widgets.
  • Select the widget you desire to add together to the sidebar.
  • Drag the widget to the side bar and drop information technology in the box.

If y'all have several sidebars or footers on different pages, you tin can add a widget to those by selecting them from the widget drop downward.

  • Go to Appearance , and then Widgets.
  • Select the widget you desire to add to the sidebar.
  • Click the arrow on the right side of the widget to reveal the dropdown.
  • Select the sidebar or footer you lot want to add the widget to.
  • Click Add together Widget way="font-size: 1.125rem; font-weight: 400;">.

How to add a widget in WordPress gif

How to Add a Widget to a WordPress Page or Mail Using a Plugin

Typically, when you add together a widget to a sidebar, it would display on every page of your website. This content typically serves as a reminder to the visitor to appoint with the additional resources that yous take to offering.

Yet, this sidebar content isn't ever relevant to all posts and pages on your site. Instead, you want to show site visitors relevant, folio-related content that provides further value, like an Near Us folio with a contact form widget (like the i shown in the epitome below) for site visitors with additional questions.

While you lot can use native WordPress functions to add widgets to your website, the default settings don't allow you to display (or disable) these widgets on specific posts or pages — whether you want them there or not.

To solve this, use plugins. These custom add-ons will help you manage where widgets announced and how they expect.

Let's become over how yous can utilize plugins to restrict widgets to different posts and pages to ensure that you're providing your site visitors with the about valuable, relevant information.

custom form widget example showing how to add widget to WordPress page

With these WordPress plugins, you tin can add and remove plugins from specific pages. With an easy setup process, you tin can update your page in only a few minutes.

1. AMR Shortcode Whatever Widget

AMR Shortcode Any Widget is a popular widget for non-technical users. Y'all can insert these widgets onto your pages with a uncomplicated shortcode.

Here'south how to use it:

amr shortcode plugin to add widget to WordPress page

  • Navigate to the specific page or post where you desire to add the widget.
  • Insert the shortcode into the Visual Editor.
  • After following these steps, it should appear on the page or mail like this:

example of adding widget to WordPress page

2. Content Blocks (Custom Mail Widget)

Content Blocks is another shortcode plugin unique in that yous can create custom widget content using the built-in WYSIWYG editor.

Here's how to apply information technology:

  • Install and activate the plugin.
  • On the left-mitt side of your dashboard, click Content Blocks.
  • Then, click Add Content Block.
  • Give the new content block a title.
  • Insert this new block into the Visual Editor.

visual editor to add widget to WordPress page

  • Click Publish.
  • On the aforementioned page, scroll downwardly until you lot encounter Content Block Shortcodes on the right-hand side.content block shortcodes to add widget to WordPress page
  • Copy the shortcode and insert it into the Visual Editor for the folio or postal service you want to brandish the widget on.
  • Preview the content to run across your changes, and click Insert Content Cake when done.

3. WP Page Widget

WP Page Widget is a useful tool for creating widgetized page layouts in sidebar-enabled WordPress themes.

Hither's how to utilize it:

  • Install and activate the plugin.
  • On the left-hand side of your dashboard, go to Settings, then Page widgets settings.
  • Adjacent to Bachelor for mail type, check Post and Page, or wherever you'd like it to be displayed.
  • Select the desired sidebars or sections of your folio that you lot'd like to customize.
  • Optional step: select Yes to customize by default to ensure that y'all always have control of where widgets are displayed on your site.
  • Preview your changes if desired or simply select Save Changes.

settings page widgets to add widget to WordPress page

  • Navigate to the desired folio or post where you want to add together the widget and roll down to the Page Widgets section.

page widgets section to add widget to WordPress page

  • Drag and drop the desired widgets into this area.
  • Preview the content to meet your changes before they become live.

4. Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Widget Area Director

Custom Sidebars helps you display custom widgets on pages or posts past category, ensuring that site visitors but see relevant and related content.

Here's how to apply it:

  • Install and activate the plugin.
  • Navigate to Appearance, so to Widgets. Here you'll see a new area called Custom Sidebars.

custom sidebars plugin to add widget to WordPress page

  • Y'all can create a custom sidebar or elevate and driblet the default included widgets into the section marked Theme Sidebars. You can control where the sidebar appears (in the sidebar or footer section) for both types.
  • Click the downward arrow on the desired widget, and so click Visibility (as shown beneath).

visibility of custom sidebars plugin to add widget to WordPress page

  • Click the + push button to signal when the widget will display on specific pages or posts.

filter options in custom sidebars to add widget to WordPress page

  • Save your widget settings.
  • Preview the content to run across your changes.

v. Ruby-red Sidebars

This unique plugin can brandish widgets within different areas on your site and assign widgets to display on dissimilar groups of pages or posts.

Here's how to employ information technology:

  • Install and activate the plugin.
  • Get to Appearance, then Widgets.
  • You'll see a new widget area labeled Cherry Sidebars underneath the default sidebars customizer.
  • Drag and drop your pre-downloaded widgets.

cherry sidebars plugin to add widget to WordPress page

  • Navigate to the specific page or post where you lot desire to add the widget.
  • Whorl downwardly until you see Post Sidebars on the right-hand side bill of fare.

post sidebars to add widget to WordPress page

  • From the drop-down menu, select the sidebars you desire to utilize.
  • Save the folio or mail.
  • Preview the content to see your changes.

6. Sidebar & Widget Manager for WordPress

Sidebar & Widget Director for WordPress is a characteristic-rich plugin that gives y'all full control over displaying widgets on your site. You can select the relevant pages or posts to brandish your widgets and change their placements on each page.

Here'due south how to apply it:

  • Install and activate the plugin.
  • Navigate to Appearance, then to Widgets.
  • Click the Prepare Visibility button and choose the pages where yous want your widgets to be displayed.

demo of how to add widget to specific pages all at once

You lot tin can also change where widgets are positioned on your pages and posts past creating custom sidebar widgets. Hither's how:

  • First, navigate to the Pages section.
  • Build your layout or select a default option from the dropdown card.
  • Drag and drop the sidebars that comprise the widgets yous want to display.

demo of how to create custom sidebar widgets on wordpress page

  • Preview the post or page to see your changes.

Choosing a Plugin to Display Your Widgets

Customizing your blog posts and webpages with widgets can inspire engagement with site visitors by featuring additional content. While WordPress'southward default settings may not include the features you need, the additional plugins on this list offer alternative solutions to help you build the WordPress site you want.

Editor'south note: This post was originally published in December 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Originally published Mar 25, 2021 7:00:00 AM, updated May 10 2022