What is the difference between plugins and widgets

But not all plugins do. And some widgets are created by or powered by a plugin. But not all widgets are necessarily powered by a plugin. The easiest way to remember the difference is that plugins add functions or features to your site.

Widgets add content blocks to the front end, usually in the sidebar or footer of your site. We cover widgets in depth in this tutorial video. And we cover plugins in depth in this tutorial video. When you first sign up for your hosting account and install your WordPress website, you have the option of choosing a WordPress theme. Popular themes will come with a set of pre-installed and common widgets that are ready to use. In other words, your website theme will already have a specific design, layout, features, and functionality on your sidebars and footers.

Widgets are just one element that makes each WordPress template look slightly unique. WordPress offers the following basic example of what widgets look like. You could choose to eliminate or reorganize the location of these website elements. Keep in mind the areas on your website will vary depending on the template you selected. You can also click on the widget and drag it from the left side of the screen to the right side of the page. This is how you can customize the look, feel, and functionality of your website without knowing how to write code.

Once you click customize, WordPress will redirect you to a clean navigation bar on the right. WordPress makes it easy to add widgets customize the look, feel, and functionality of your website, by providing these three different ways to do it. Plugins are a piece of software that performs a specific function to help your website run more effectively or to help your website do what you want it to do.

Examples of popular WordPress plugins include:. There are thousands of WordPress plugins that help your website do what you want it to do without having to know how to code. Now, here is where people get WordPress plugins and widgets confused, so let me set the record straight. Widgets are always plugins.

Kind of like how all apples are fruits. It was originally created to provide an easy yet efficient way to add design and structure. And by default, WordPress comes with a range of WordPress widgets like tags, categories, calendar and more. There are hundreds and thousands of options for free and premium WordPress Plugins and Widgets that you can find on the internet. However, the largest Free repository is surely the official WordPress repository.

From basics to advanced, these places have a collection of plugins dedicated to all niche. You can find plugins and widgets to extend features related to security, SEO, social media and so much more. We have already discussed this topic previously and you can easily refer to the post here.

While the process is pretty similar, here is the link to help you understand the process of adding widgets here. With this post today, we hope that we have cleared any queries on your mind regarding the subject of what are the differences between a WordPress widget and a WordPress plugin.

From the whole structure to the installation process, while it may seem similar, it is pretty distinct. Basically, all widgets are kind of like a plugin but not all plugins necessarily are widgets. If you liked this post, feel free to leave a comment down below. And as we strive to provide our readers with nothing but the best, we also appreciate your feedback!

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