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Widgets: Customizing Sidebars and Footers

Last updated on May 21, 2026 05:07

While menus help people navigate, Widgets add functional content to the structural areas of your website, such as your Sidebars or Footers.

Widgets allow you to easily display things like a "Search Bar", a list of "Recent Blog Posts", or a "Newsletter Signup Form" across your entire site without having to edit individual pages.

Understanding Widget Areas

To manage widgets, navigate to Appearance > Widgets.

Your Theme defines specific Widget Areas (sometimes called sidebars). A typical theme might have:

  • Main Sidebar: Appears on the right or left side of all blog posts.

  • Footer Column 1, 2, 3: Appears at the very bottom of the website.

You can drag and drop individual Widgets into these predefined Areas.

Adding and Configuring Widgets

On the Widgets screen, you will see a list of "Available Widgets" on the left, and your "Widget Areas" on the right.

1. Add a Widget

To add functionality to your site, simply click on an Available Widget, hold down your mouse button, and drag it into one of the Widget Areas on the right.

2. Configure the Widget

Once a widget is dropped into an area, it will expand to reveal its settings.

For example, if you drop the Recent Posts widget into your Main Sidebar, you can configure:

  • Title: e.g., "Latest News"

  • Number of posts to show: e.g., 5

After adjusting the settings, click Save.

3. Reorder Widgets

You can drag and drop widgets up or down within the same Widget Area to change the order they appear on your website.

Core Widgets Available

PolyCMS comes with several useful widgets right out of the box:

  • Search: Adds a global search bar so users can find posts or products.

  • Recent Posts / Recent Products: Displays a dynamic list of your newest content.

  • Categories: Shows a list of your blog or store categories.

  • Custom HTML Block: This is the most powerful widget. You can paste custom HTML code here (like a Google Maps iframe, a Mailchimp form embed code, or a banner image).

Pro Tip for Agencies: If you need a widget that doesn't exist, PolyCMS allows developers to easily register custom widgets via the Module system!