In Part 1 of this step-by-step tutorial, we explained how to use widgets in WordPress and in Part 2, you learned how to configure a text widget.
In this tutorial we will continue configuring other frequently-used WordPress widgets.
Add Post Categories
Now that you know how to configure a text widget containing a clickable support button, let’s configure a widget to display Categories on the sidebar.
The Categories widget already displays on your sidebar by default. Place the widget wherever you want your categories to display by clicking and dragging it on the sidebar widget area …
(Categories widget)
your your WordPress post categories …
(WordPress Categories)
Note: We are currently putting together tutorials on using post categories in WordPress.
Let’s configure your categories widget settings as described below:
- In Title: type something that your visitors will understand, like “Choose A Topic…” (1)
- If you plan to use many categories, check Display as dropdown (this significantly reduces the length of the content by displaying all categories inside a drop-down menu). If you plan to publish posts under a few categories only, then leave the Display as dropdown box unchecked. (2)
- You can leave the remaining options unticked, or see the additional notes on configuring the Categories widget below.
- Click Save when finished …
(Configuring a Categories widget)
Click Visit Site or refresh your page to see how your sidebar categories will look to visitors …
(Categories widget added to sidebar)
Tips:
- Change the default Uncategorized post category to something more meaningful.
- If you use nested categories on your site, you may want to check the Show hierarchy option, otherwise leave this box unticked.
- To display the number of posts published in each category on your site, enable the Show post counts check box …
(Category widget options – Post Count Enabled vs Post Count Disabled)
Add A Recent Posts Widget
The Recent Posts widget displays on your sidebar menu by default. All you need to do is configure this widget.
Click on the title bar to configure its settings …
(Recent Posts WordPress widget)
There’s not much to set up in this widget. You can add a widget title, select the number of posts to display and opt to display post dates. If you’re happy with the default Number of posts to show setting, then just leave the widget as is, otherwise change the number of posts and click Save when done …
(Recent Posts widget settings)
The number of posts you have specified will be listed on the sidebar …
(Recent Posts WordPress widget displayed on sidebar)
To learn how to create WordPress Posts, see this step-by-step tutorial: How To Create A New Post In WordPress
Add A Pages Widget
Next, we’ll add a widget to your sidebar menu for listing pages.
Find a Pages widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Pages Widget)
Drag the Pages widget to your widget section …
(Inserting a Pages widget into the sidebar)
The Pages widget lets you configure the following options:
- Title: Add a title to display above your links (e.g. “Pages“) (1)
- Sort by: Sort how your pages display: by title (i.e. alphabetically), by page order, or page ID. (2)
- Exclude: Use this setting to prevent pages from showing on your sidebar navigation section (3) …
(WordPress Pages Widget settings)
By default, pages will be listed by title in alphabetical order. If you want to display pages using another option, then choose a different method in the Sort by: drop-down menu …
(Pages Widget settings – item sorting options)
To exclude certain pages from showing in your widget, type in their Page Ids separated by commas into the Exclude field of the Pages widget …
(WordPress Pages Widget settings – excluding pages)
A tutorial is provided on how to find a post or page ID in WordPress here: How To Locate Page And Post IDs In WordPress
Click the Save button when done and click Close at the bottom of the widget box to minimize the widget.
Links to the site’s pages will now show on your sidebar navigation area …
(Pages Widget on blog sidebar)
Tip: You can add multiple Pages widgets to your sidebar. This is handy if you would like to display separate page groups on your sidebar (e.g. “Products”, “Legal Pages” etc.)
Add Links To Your Sidebar Navigation Menu
Next, we’ll add a widget that will display external links on your sidebar.
Before adding a Links widget to the sidebar, we recommend setting up your Links section inside your dashboard first …
(WordPress Links section)
Note: We plan to create step-by-step tutorials on how to configure the Links feature in WordPress.
To add the widget, select a Links widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links Widget)
Drag the widget to your sidebar …
(Making Links Widget active)
The widget offers a number of configurable options, including the ability to specify what information to show about your links and how many links you want to display on the sidebar …
(Links Widget Settings)
You can add as many separate ‘Link Widgets’ to the sidebar navigation section as you want. As you will see in a moment, this lets you create and display specific lists of links on your site …
(Add Multiple Links Widgets To Your Sidebar)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(WordPress Links widget: ‘Sort by:’ drop-down menu)
You can also create and display a list of items for a specific category, by selecting a link category from the ‘Select Link Category’ drop-down menu …
( Links widget: ‘Select Link Category’ drop-down menu)
When you have finished configuring your Links Widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your widget will display immediately on the sidebar …
(Links added to sidebar)
As the above example shows, you can display specific external links to your site visitors (e.g. a list for a specific link category only), and add multiple link lists to the sidebar navigation section.
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This is the end of part 3 of this series of tutorials.
To keep reading, click here:
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)