Section 12: How to Use WordPress Widgets for Footers and Sidebars

wordpress widgets for footers and sidebars

One of the features that makes WordPress so functional is that it allows you to create what are called Widgets.

The Widgets that are available to you will depend on your Theme and installed Plugins. There are a few that come with the initial WordPress design, but your other installations expand your options.

Typically the main locations where these Widgets will show up in your site are the Footer and Sidebars.

The basic WordPress installation usually has a place for at least one Sidebar. It might even have a separate one for your Front Page and one for your Blog Post Pages. The way you add content to these areas is in the Widgets Section.



Some Themes allow you to create as many sidebars as you want, and then you can assign them even to a specific Page or Post. You assign these page or post specific sidebars below the editing space when you are editing them.

To add content to the Widgets, go to “Appearance” and then “Widgets”. Find the correct Widget you are wanting to edit and expand it using the small arrow on the right of that Widget box.


All of the sections you can add are in the “Available Widgets” area. To add to a Footer or Sidebar you drag and drop a section from the Available into the Widget area. When you drag it into that area it will be live on your site.

Most sections in the “Available Widgets” area have settings that you will want to double check, and possibly text titles you will want to add. Once you are done editing the Widget you will need to click “Save” for those changes to be live on your site.


Sometimes these Widgets already have sections in them that you do not want. To delete them, expand the Widget by clicking the small arrow on the right and click “Delete”.

Lastly, if you want to add text, a graphic or embed something like a YouTube video you will use the “Text” Widget. You can add text just by typing it in the Widget area, but if you want to add a graphic or video, you will need to add the HTML code in this area to make it show up on your site.



You will need to make sure that whatever pictures, graphics or YouTube video you add to the Sidebar is the correct size for the space. These are typically around 250-300px wide to fit the Sidebar, but you will have to test to see what works for your website. If you get the graphic or video too large it will not show up.


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