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How to Customize Your Sidebar

Author has a sidebar area that is "widgetized". This simply means you can add any Widgets you'd like to this part of the site.

In this article

How to Add Widgets to the Sidebar

  1. Visit the Widgets menu (Appearance → Widgets)
  2. On the left-side, locate a widget that you want to add to the sidebar
  3. Click on the widget, select the Primary Sidebar option, and click the Add Widget button
  4. Configure the widget's settings once it is added to the Primary Sidebar widget area
  5. When you're finished configuring the widget, click the blue Save button at the bottom
  6. Repeat this for each widget you want to add to your sidebar

The widgets will be added to your site as you configure them from your dashboard.

How to Reorder Widgets

Just like in a custom menu, you can drag-and-drop widgets to reorder them.

  1. Visit the Widgets menu (Appearance → Widgets)
  2. Locate a widget you want to reposition in the Primary Sidebar widget area
  3. Click-and-drag the widget before or after another widget to reposition

The widget order will be saved and updated on your site immediately.

How to Transfer Widgets Across Themes

If you're switching to Author from another theme with a sidebar, you probably already have some widgets configured. Unfortunately, widgets don't transfer across themes in WordPress.

However, there is a trick you can use to save and transfer your widgets by using the Inactive Widgets section.

  1. Reactivate your old theme
  2. Visit the Widgets menu (Appearance → Widgets)
  3. Drag-and-drop each widget from your sidebar into the Inactive Widgets section found at the very bottom left side of the page
  4. Activate Author
  5. Drag-and-drop each widget from the Inactive Widgets section into the Primary Sidebar section

By moving the widgets into the Inactive Widgets section, you can save them with their settings, and still access them once Author is active.

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