Widgets are components that appear in the sidebar of a web page. Commonly used widgets include a search box, sidebar menus and blog archive links.
The Widgets page in your site allows you to change and order widgets on your sidebar, and you can even create custom widgets.
Access Widgets
Note: By default, widgets are drag and drop, but you can enable accessibility mode to activate additional menus and buttons for adding widgets. To enable accessibility mode, click the Screen Options button in the top menu of the Widgets page. Then, click the link to Enable accessibility mode.
To configure your widgets:
- Enter your site following the instructions to Edit your Portfolio Site.
- In your site’s dashboard, click Appearance in the left menu and click Widgets.
- The Widgets page opens with Available Widgets listed in the left and Main Sidebar on the right.
- To add a widget, drag or Add the widget from the Available Widgets area.
- To edit a widget, click the down arrow or Edit link in the widget title.
- To delete a widget drag it away from the Primary Sidebar or click Edit, then the Delete button.
Common Widgets
Some commonly used widgets are:
- Search – places a search field on your page allowing your content to be searched.
- Archives – lists your blog entries month by month
- Pages – lists all pages on your site alphabetically
To add more customization, you can also consider these widgets
- Text – Add custom text (e.g. a short bio) and/or custom HTML tags
- Custom Menu – Create a custom menu to select only certain pages or blog categories/tags to appear in the side bar.
Note: You can find additional information on using Widgets on the Sites at Penn State Support Page