WordPress is a blogging platform/CMS (content management system) that allows you to not only create a blog on your website, but create the entire website using this flexible blogging platform. For WordPress to feel more like a static site, you’ll want to have as much flexibility as possible when it comes to setting up your blog/CMS platform. This article gives you an overview of the widgets to use on your blog that will give you the flexibility you need.
1. Logic widget
Widget Logic is a useful widget that allows you to control which pages your widgets appear on. Its power lies in the fact that it can be implemented widget by widget. This gives you full control over what type of content appears on which pages and also targets your content to a much more specific topic. Widget logic can be found at wordpress.org/extend/plugins/widget-logic/ and is a free plugin. You will need to understand some simple WordPress conditional tag syntax, but it is very easy to learn and once you have it, you will be well on your way to creating a truly unique website.
2. WordPress registration forms
WordPress signup forms are widgets that interact directly with your autoresponder or mailing list software. Each of the most popular email list services has its own WordPress widget, so the specific one you would use will depend on the service you have. Using these widgets makes it easy to add a signup box to every page of your website, which will help your mailing list grow faster.
WordPress registration form widgets include the following:
- 1shoppingcart – wordpress.org/extend/plugins/1shoppingcart-wordpress-signup-forms/
- Aweber – wordpress.org/extend/plugins/aweber-integration/
- Constant Contact – wordpress.org/extend/plugins/constant-contact-api/
- iContact – wordpress.org/extend/plugins/icontact-widget/
3.RSS feed
The RSS feed comes with the standard WordPress installation and allows you to bring in other feeds to place on your website. Using RSS feeds allows you to have constantly changing content on your blog. This feature will make search engines return to your site more regularly, which will improve the speed with which your pages are indexed. When used in conjunction with Widget Logic, you can embed several different RSS feeds on your site depending on the topic, making each page of your blog more focused on the topic, which will help it rank better in search engines.
4. Text widget
This widget gives you extreme flexibility because it allows you to place additional HTML code on your website. You can use this widget to place ads on your website and together with Widget Logic you can also highly target these ads. A cousin of this widget allows you to add PHP code instead of HTML code. For more advanced programmers, this will allow you to add a kind of almost limitless functionality to your WordPress blog.
Using specific widgets will allow you to create a website that will be as effective and complete as many hand-built custom websites, but at a fraction of the cost. Using the different widgets discussed will give you the flexibility you need to create a website that is unique, functional, and easy to customize.