Widgets
I’ve gotten a number of questions from readers regarding our coverage of Widgets.
Widgets were brand new when we wrote the book and were released just as we were finishing up. I added them to Chapter 1, page 18.
What I failed to make clear in my coverage of Widgets on pages 18-19 is that they are part of a WordPress.com blog — not a WordPress server installation blog. That means that if you have a WordPress.com blog, you can use Widgets as described in our book with any theme that supports it. When the book was written in May 2006, only one theme supported Widgets: the Default Theme. Now many themes do.
If you have a server installation of WordPress, you’ll need to install the Widget Plugin. We did not cover this plugin in our book because it did not exist when the book went to press. You can get more information about this plugin and download it at http://automattic.com/code/widgets/.
I have not tried this plugin and have no experience with it. When I have time, I hope to write a little about it here. In the meantime, Miraz may have a few things to say about it, so do keep checking in. Also, feel free to use the Comments link on this post to add information about your experiences with this plugin.
Remember, WordPress changes regularly and each new release may change the way existing features work, remove existing features, or add new features. A printed book cannot be revised. If something in our book does not match what you see onscreen while working with WordPress, it may be due to a programming change. Please do let us know about it so we can clarify or correct our book here for you and other readers.
Sidebar Widgets
There is sometimes confusion over features available in wordpress.com blogs vs. those available only in WordPress server installations. Although we tried our best to point out each instance where an instruction only worked for one type of blog, we may have missed one or two spots or may not have been as clear as we should have.
Reader Ken writes:
On page 18 re: Sidebar Widgets you give a list of buttons to press to get to the sidebar configuration screens. Problem is that I can’t seem to find the Sidebar Widgets button under Themes under Dashboard!!? Can you check those directions and let me know how to get to widgets?
The Sidebar Widgets button appears when you click the Presentation button if you are accessing a wordpress.com blog.
To use Sidebar Widgets in a server installation of WordPress, you need to install the Widgets plugin, which is so new that we have not had a chance to look at it. I suspect, however, that the Widgets plugin won’t work with all themes, so if you do try it, be sure to read the documentation carefully.