In Part 1 of this step-by-step tutorial series, we explained the basics of using widgets in WordPress.
In this section you are going to learn how to begin configuring various sidebar widgets in WordPress.
Configuring Commonly-Used WordPress Sidebar Widgets
In a default WordPress installation, your site comes with a number of built-in widgets, such as widgets that let you display links to your site’s pages, filter posts by categories, news items, adding tag clouds, etc.
(In a default WordPress installation, your site comes with several built-in widgets)
How To Configure Widgets On The WordPress Sidebar: Step-By-Step Tutorial
In this tutorial series, you are going to learn how to add, configure and reorder s number of WordPress widgets to display in your site’s sidebar, including:
- Adding a Support button linking to your help page.
- Adding a Categories section.
- Adding a Recent Posts section to display your latest posts.
- Adding a list of Pages.
- Display Links on the sidebar.
- Adding an RSS Feed section.
- Adding a Tag Cloud.
- Configure how your Archived Posts display on the sidebar navigation area.
The Widgets screen is located in the WordPress administration area and can be accessed by going to Appearance > Widgets …
(WordPress Widgets Menu)
This opens the Widgets panel into your browser …
(Widgets Screen)
Let’s begin to configure your sidebar widgets …
Adding Text Widgets To Your Sidebar Navigation Section
Text widgets are incredibly useful …
(Text widget)
Rich Text Widget
From version 4.8 onward, WordPress has added native rich-text editing capabilities to text widgets …
(Rich Text Widget)
This lets you quickly and easily format text, create lists, add emphasis, and insert links into your sidebar text …
(Format text easily with the new text widget)
Text widgets can be used to add lists of favorite items, image links, forms and more to your site … just type in text or insert HTML into the content area. You can also add an optional title in the Title field. Remember to save your settings …
(Text widgets are very useful!)
Example: Add A Help Button To The Sidebar Menu Using A Text Widget
For this example, let’s set up a clickable help button on your sidebar navigation section that will take your visitors to a page on your site (or an external site, e.g. a helpdesk) where they can contact you for help and support.
First, create or source a graphic image that visitors can click on …
We’ll set up a clickable button to display at the top of the sidebar navigation area like in the example shown below …
Step 1 – Upload your image.
To display the clickable image on your site, the image must be uploaded to your server. Upload your button image to a folder on your server and write down the address of your image location.
For example …
http://www.yourdomain.com/images/supportbutton.jpg
You will use this information in Step 3.
In order for visitors to be taken to the contact page when they click on the graphic button, either create a contact page, or have an existing destination page already set up (e.g. a helpdesk). We will then link your button graphic to this URL in Step 3 …
Step 2 – Add a support page.
Create a contact page on your site and note its URL …
Step 3 – Create the HTML code for your text widget.
Don’t worry … this sounds a lot more technical than it is. In simple terms, you just need to create the instructions for your clickable button.
Your code can be typed in a simple text file and should look something like this …
- Replace “http://www.yourdomain.com/contact-us” in the code with the URL of your contact page location.
- Replace “http://yourimagelocation.com/img/supportbutton.jpg” in the code with the URL of your image location.
The screenshot below shows which sections of the above code you need to replace with the actual web addresses …
Replace the above URLs and then copy all of the above code to your clipboard when finished.
If you need help with basic HTML code, refer to this tutorial:
Next, go back into your Widgets panel …
(Widgets Screen)
Step 4 – Add a Text widget.
Add a Text widget to your sidebar where you want the clickable button to display.
In the Available Widgets area, find a Text widget …
(WordPress text widget)
Drag your Text widget to your Active Widgets section and release it at the top of the Widget Area …
(Drag-and-drop your WordPress text widget)
Step 5 – Configure your text widget settings.
Click on the widget title bar to configure its settings. Paste the code with the links to your contact page and graphic button into your text widget content area and click the save button …
Add a heading to your widget if you want (e.g. “Need Help?”, “Get Help”, etc.) and paste the code with the correct URLs into the text area, then click the save button …
Note: Remember to check all URLs before pasting scripts into your Text Widget, or the button will not work.
*** If using WordPress version pre-4.8 ***
If adding text without formatting tags like paragraph breaks, you may want to tick the Automatically add paragraphs box to wrap each block of text in an HTML paragraph code (note: not required if you paste in formatted content like we’re using in the example for this tutorial).
Here is some text with Automatically add paragraphs option unchecked …
(Automatically add paragraphs box unchecked)
Here is some text added to a Text widget with Automatically add paragraphs box ticked …
(Automatically add paragraphs box checked)
***
Step 6 – Refresh your web browser.
Once you have added the text widget and HTML content, visit the front-end of your site and refresh your web browser. If you have entered all of the links correctly, then your support button will display in your sidebar menu …
(Clickable button widget on blog sidebar)
The screenshot above shows the contact button in the sidebar of a brand new WordPress site.
Step 7 – Test the widget.
The final step is to make sure that your destination URL works. Test this by clicking on the support button. If you are taken directly to the contact page, then your text widget has been set up correctly …
(Test your text widget)
Useful Tips:
If you want a new browser window to open up when visitors click on your support button (so they don’t leave the page they’re on), then change the code from this:
To this (i.e. add the part containing target=”_blank” in your code):
When adding images to your sidebar section, make sure that the width of your image doesn’t exceed the width of the sidebar column, especially if you are using a non-responsive WordPress theme. Note that some themes can display elements differently depending on their templates and their layout. Some sidebars may be wider or narrower. If your theme’s sidebar width is narrower than the width of your button image, then you may need to either adjust the graphic size, or the column width to make elements display correctly on your sidebar area.
(Adjust column width or reduce image size)
More Tips:
- If you don’t want the image to be centered inside your sidebar, delete the <center> and </center> tags from the beginning and end of the code. The image will then be left-aligned.
- Link your help button to any destination you want (e.g. to an external site, contact form, FAQ page, etc.) and change this anytime by replacing the content in your text widget.
***
This is the end of section two of this series of tutorials about using WordPress widgets.
Click here to continue:
***
"I love the way your email series "Infinite Web Content Creation Training Series" is documented and presented. It is very absorbing and captivating. The links and tutorials are interesting and educational. This has motivated me to rewrite my content following the concepts I am learning from the email series." - Mani Raju, www.fortuneinewaste.com