Are you looking for useful WordPress widgets for your website?
Widgets allow you to add content, features, and other elements to your WordPress sidebar and other widget-ready areas.
WordPress comes with a handful of built-in widgets that you can use right away. WordPress plugins and themes can also add their own WordPress widgets as well.
In this article, we will share some of the most useful WordPress widgets for your site. These widgets will help you effectively use your website’s digital real estate to improve user experience and grow your business.
1. WP Call Button
As mobile internet traffic grows, most users find it convenient to just call a business for more information. WP Call Button allows you to easily add a click to call now button to your WordPress site.
You can use it to add a sticky button thats scrolls with the user or use the widget to display the call button in a sidebar.
It works with any landline or mobile phone number, but we recommend using a professional business phone service to make sure that you never miss a call.
For step by step instructions, see our article on how to easily add a click-to-call button in WordPress.
2. WPForms
WPForms is the best WordPress contact form plugin on the market. It allows you to quickly create a contact form and add it anywhere on your website.
It comes with a drag and drop form builder, ready-to-use form templates, Gutenberg block, and sidebar widget. It is a premium plugin with a free version available as WPForms Lite.
For details, see our guide on how to create a contact form in WordPress with step by step instructions.
3. RafflePress
RafflePress is the best WordPress giveaway / contest plugin. It allows you to create viral giveaways and contests to instantly get a lot of traffic, new customers, and subscribers.
It allows you to run a giveaway and add it to a post, page, or sidebar widget. You can also create a standalone landing page for your giveaway and promote it across your social profiles.
RafflePress is a paid plugin with a free version called RafflePress Lite.
To learn more, see our guide on how to run a giveaway in WordPress with detailed instructions.
4. Recent Posts Widget with Thumbnails
By default, WordPress comes with a recent posts widget, which displays a plain list of your recent posts. Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails allows you to display recent posts with thumbnails.
It uses the featured image or the first image in a post as thumbnail. You can also adjust the height and width of the image from the widget’s settings screen.
5. Astra Widgets
Astra Widgets is widget pack created by the folks behind the popular Astra Theme. It allows you to easily add your business location, social profile links, and an icon list to your WordPress sidebar.
It works with any WordPress theme and is compatible with all popular page builder plugins as well.
6. Simple Social Icons
It is a really simple widget to add social icons to your sidebars. All the configuration options are in the widget’s settings. You can choose which social networks to link to and add your profile URLs.
You can also modify the icon by choosing the background and icon font color. For details, see our tutorial on how to add social media icons in your WordPress sidebar.
This plugin is built by StudioPress, the popular company behind the Genesis Theme Framework (now a subsidiary of WP Engine).
7. Google Maps Widget
An easier way to add a map to your site’s sidebar is by using Google Maps Widget. This simple widget allows you to display a Google map in a widget. When a user clicks on the map, a larger map opens in a lightbox popup.
This is one of the best WordPress widgets for businesses that want to display their address and location on their site. Check out our guide on how to add Google Maps in WordPress for more information.
8. Social Count Plus
You may have seen that some popular websites show their social followers count in the sidebar. This adds to the credibility of your website by adding social proof.
Social Count Plus widget allows you to easily display your social media follower count in the sidebar. See our guide on how to display social media followers count in WordPress.
This widget only displays your follower count and not the number of times an article is shared on your website.
If you want to display share counts for individual posts, then we recommend using Shared Counts, which is one of the best social media plugins for WordPress. It will allow you to easily add social sharing buttons to your posts and pages with share count for each social media website.
9. Compact Archives
The default monthly archives widget shows your blog archives in a long list of months. This can take up a lot of space. Compact Archives solves this problem by grouping your monthly archives into years and displaying them in a compact form.
It also comes with a Gutenberg block that you can add to in your posts and pages. It also includes a widget that you can use in your blog’s sidebar.
For more information check out our tutorial on how to create compact archives in WordPress.
10. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is the best WordPress lead generation software on the market. It allows you to easily convert website visitors into subscribers and customers.
It helps you grow your email list by adding sign up forms in sidebar widgets, lightbox popup, floating bars, and more.
OptinMonster is the best WordPress widget for eCommerce sites and businesses who want to boost their conversions.
11. AdSanity
AdSanity is the best ad management plugin for WordPress. It allows you to easily display ads anywhere on your website and comes with a widget to automatically display ads in your blog’s sidebar.
If you are planning to support your website with Google AdSense, banner ads, or affiliate marketing, then AdSanity helps you maximize your ad space and generate more revenue.
12. Testimonials Rotator
An easy way to add social proof to your website is by adding customer testimonials to your website. Testimonials Rotator allows you to easily add customer testimonials to your website.
It is one of the best testimonial plugins for WordPress and comes with a nifty widget that allows you to display rotating testimonials in a sidebar. This takes less space and allows you to cleverly use sidebars to boost social trust.
For detailed instructions, see our article on how to add rotating testimonials in WordPress.
13. Feature a Page Widget
This neat plugin allows you to add a page as a featured page in your WordPress sidebar. You can choose to display a page title, featured image, and excerpt. See this article on how to feature a page in WordPress to learn more.
14. Easy Table of Contents
Easy Table of Contents plugin allows you to easily add a table of contents to your articles. It comes in handy if you often publish long-form articles. Adding a table of contents helps users quickly jump to different sections.
The plugin can automatically insert a table of contents to longer articles or you can manually add it. Additionally, it also comes with a widget to display the table in the sidebar.
For details, see our article on how to easily add table of contents in WordPress.
15. Widget Context
Widget Context plugin allows you to show and hide widgets based on context. For example, you can hide a widget if a user is viewing a specific page.
This comes in handy if you don’t want to display a widget on certain pages or only want to display it on specific sections. For details, see our article on how to show / hide widgets in WordPress.
16. Q2W3 Fixed Widget for WordPress
The sidebar widgets usually disappear as a user scroll down your website. Q2W3 Fixed Widget for WordPress allows you to change any widget into a fixed widget that stays on the screen as users scroll down.
This comes in handy if you want to display a special offer, important content, or a newsletter sign up form. For details, see our guide on how to create a sticky floating widget in WordPress.
17. WordPress Popular Posts
WordPress Popular Posts is the best popular posts plugin for WordPress. As the name suggests, it allows you to display your most popular posts in WordPress.
The plugin comes with a widget that you can add to a sidebar. You can also use the shortcode or a template tag to display popular posts anywhere on your site.
18. WP-PostRatings
WP-PostRatings plugin allows you to easily add a post rating system to your WordPress website. Your users can then rate articles on your site and provide you with instant feedback.
The plugin also comes with a widget, which you can use to display your top-rated content in your blog’s sidebar.
19. Theme My Login
Theme My Login is a powerful WordPress plugin that allows you to create a custom login page for your website visitors. It is highly useful if you allow user registration on your website or run a multi-author WordPress blog.
The plugin also comes with a sidebar login widget, which you can use to make it easier for users to log in to their accounts. For details, see our guide on how to create front-end / sidebar login form in WordPress.
20. Advanced AJAX Product Filters
Advanced AJAX Product Filters allows you to display an instant product filter for your WooCommerce store. You can allow your users to filter products by price, rating, or attributes by simply adding a filter widget to your sidebar.
21. Google Language Translator
Google Language Translator plugin allows you to easily add a language switcher widget to your WordPress site. It uses Google Translate to translate content on your website in any language.
Alternative: TranslatePress allows you to combine Google translate with manual translations to improve the overall quality of your translated content.
22. Widget Importer & Exporter
Now that you have set up your widgets and configured its settings, you may want to move them to another website. This is where Widget Importer & Exporter plugin comes in handy.
It allows you to download all your widgets as JSON file, which you can then import on any other WordPress site. If you are using the same theme and plugins, then all your widgets will be imported exactly as they were.
If you are using a different theme that does not have the same widget areas as the old theme, then those widgets will be imported as inactive widgets. You can then drag and drop them to any widget area you like.
23. The Events Calendar
The Events Calendar is one of the best WordPress calendar plugins on the market. It allows you to easily manage event listings on a WordPress website.
You can add new events with full details, display an events calendar in a WordPress post or page, or display upcoming events in a sidebar widget.
24. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) is the best WordPress related posts plugin on the market. It allows you to easily display related content for each article on your website.
It uses an advanced algorithm to match content which allows it to show more contextually related posts than other plugins. It also comes with a widget that you can use to display related posts in a sidebar.
25. Posts in Sidebar
Posts in Sidebar is a really simple but highly useful plugin. It allows you to show specific posts in a sidebar widget.
You can select which posts you want to show, display them with title, excerpt, and a thumbnail, or plain lists. You can also use it with the Widget Context plugin to show different posts on different areas of your website.
We hope this article helped you find some useful WordPress widgets for your website. You may also want to see our guide on the best WordPress plugins and the best Gutenberg block plugins for your website.
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