Quick Tip: Get Widgety
WordPress.com widgets are a great way to add new content such as your Twitter stream, or to display del.icio.us links, a tag cloud and/or a calendar to your blog, either in the sidebar, header, or footer of your site.
To see the widgets you have available to you, log in to your WordPress.com dashboard and click on Appearance > Widgets. To add a widget, simply click on it and drag it up and over to the right of the widget screen, into the Default Sidebar, Header Area, or Footer Area section of your site. If you choose to use several widgets in your sidebar, for example, you can click and drag them to order them as you see fit.
Here’s a bunch of my favorite widgets:
- Text: Text widgets allow you to enter some custom text, say for a short “About” statement in your sidebar. Text widgets also accept basic HTML, so you can add headings, paragraph breaks, and links if you wish.
- Image: Just as the name implies, the image widget allows you to add a image to your sidebar.
- Tag Cloud: The tag cloud widget shows your most-used tags in a cloud format. The larger the type size for the tag, the more often it’s used on your site.
- Milestone: The milestone widget puts a countdown box on your site, that tells you how many days are left before the big event — you might use it to countdown to a product launch, to your wedding, your birthday, or a graduation, just to give you a few ideas.
- Goodreads: The Goodreads widget connects to your Goodreads profile and displays the covers of your recently read books.
The five widgets I’ve listed here are just a start — there’s many to choose from, and we’re just getting started. This week, Michael Pick brings us a new piece you’ll love on branding and how you can use image widgets to make your blog’s look unique. Additionally, Cheri Lucas will take us a bit deeper on how to use widgets to add your own personal design flair to your site. In the meantime, take a minute to peek at your widgets and drag a few to your sidebar — it’s never too early to start experimenting.
love all current widgets but would really find a three tab sidebar widget that accepts text and basic HTML a big help in making best use of posting real estate.
Regards,
I fidgets with me widgets, I do. Good 411!
Tell me about it. I got nothing now. Had such a hard time just to put the “like” button on my facebook just like other people do. copied the code and can’t paste it.
I love the Twitter widget! It really is a great idea !
I am going to add the Milestone widget to our site to remind me of the number of daily blogs to go till the end of the year
I love the image widget – I use it as a button! When I want to feature something cool, I use and image and simply add a link.
It’s really cool and I’m sure people sometimes wonder which widget that is. 
Great idea!
Ooh, I’m excited for the upcoming branding and personal flair posts. Love the text widget – it’s versatile, and I like that you can use it to post a linked image. Thanks for the tips.
You’re welcome, @andreabadgley — I can attest that Michael and Cheri have some great stuff in store for you.
Reblogged this on 4writersandreaders and commented:
Great Blogging Tips! Bette A. Stevens
Just added a little About blurb using the text widget – I never thought to do that!
Excellent to hear! Experimentation is the name of the game. You can try as many options as you like — and if you don’t like the result, all you need to do is delete the widget.
Thank you for this post, I can use all the info I can get.
Wow, it has been awhile since I have looked – there are definitely a couple I need to implement! Thanks TONS!
grammar!
The tag widget does not track new posts. It has stayed the same since I installed it, yet I have posted about 15 times since and it does not reflect the newer words.
@playful — The tag cloud widget displays up to 45 of the most recently used tags. Quickly glancing at your sidebar, I think that you’re already at 45 — here’s some more information for you. http://en.support.wordpress.com/widgets/tag-cloud-widget/
I love the text widget too. I’ve used mine to link to a Creative Commons licence to welcome people to share my cartoons so long as they link back to the original source (that’s me and my blog).
Some people have funky world maps of visitors etc. Where do they get these from?
Marti
Awesome, thanks for sharing
I’m addicted to widgets (I keep a perpetual eye out for new ones). This post makes me feel better about my problem.
I actually had to go check out your addiction
It’s bad, right? I like your credo–might have to keep that affirmation nearby!
really helped! http://diaryofasugarholic.wordpress.com
Any chance of an Instagram widget for the sidebar?
I’ve not heard of the text widget before.That is certainly something worth looking at. Thanks the tip
I must be an idiot because I don’t understand what the del.icio.us widget is for.
Neither do I :I
@girrl_earth, @mariannegv, The del.icio.us widget allows you to display your most recent links posted to del.icio.us, which is a social bookmarking service. Here’s some more information for you: http://en.support.wordpress.com/widgets/delicious-widget/
Awesome! Thanks for explaining.
Widgets are awesome. I’ve played around with some of my own created at WolframAlpha.com. Widgets like a twitter profile QR code generator, a barcode generator or even coverting to roman numerals. You can have a look at it here: http://softwarebydefault.com/widgets/
All text widgets, fully supported by WordPress.com
The image widget is extremely flexible, allowing you to make most of your posts and pages. I love it!
Haha, I’m “widgety” enough as it is! I’m thinking about going for a less cluttered, kind of minimal theme.
i love the versatility of widgets. They have added a lot of visual impact to my blogs.
Thank you so much Krista. I have nothing now. You motivate me to try again to see if I can find something this time.
Hooray! Got my Gravata profile set up, put it on the primary right section. but, but but,… Now I can’t log in to the blog now. The login button’s gone! checked the web tried several links none work. How come wordpress’s so hard. I couldn’t get in to my blog before with “invalid password” no matter how many new passwords I reset. Somehow everything’s fine. Then can’t copy paste pictures, now this. H—e—l–p—— Am I going to lose my access?
Oh, thank you. By posting comment, now I got a way to login. I have to post comment every time I need to login now?
Is it possible to have a tag cloud that shows ALL tags? Either on the sidebar, or a page attached to the toolbar? Been wondering for a while, seems as good a place as any to ask!
Thanks I’m just getting started so the more insight you share the better for me. I was wondering what the tag cloud was.
nice
Is there anyway to give Runo Lite a double sidebar? (Not including the bottom sidebars.)