To install the image widget plugin:

1.  Log into your website at www.yourwebsite.com/wp-admin

2.  Go to the Plugins tab on the left, and click on “Add New”.

3.  In the search bar, type “Image Widget”

4.  These results will show – we’re looking for the plugin by Shane and Peter, Inc.

5.  Click “install now”.   When prompted, click on “Activate Plugin”.

To use the image widget plugin:

1.  Go to the Appearance tab, and click on “Widgets” sub-tab.

2.  Drag the Image Widget widget from the left Available Widgets section to the desired sidebar and slide it into the desired location.

3.  This is the image widget when it is open:

4.  Upload the image by clicking the “Add Image” link.

5.  Assign the widget a title or delete the title if it isn’t necessary.

6.  Optional: caption, open in a new page.

7.  Insert a link if your widget is linking to somewhere when clicked.

8.  For better SEO, assign an alternate text for robots and audible browsers.

9.  Width and height will allow your page to load faster.

10.  And you can set the alignment with a simple drop-down selection.

I adore this plugin!  If you use this and want to support the ongoing development, I’m sure a small donation to the developers would be appreciated!

Questions?  Want to see more plugins posted here?  Let me know in the comments.

I had an interesting question from a client last night, wondering how come her gorgeous sidebars disappeared when she put widgets in them. Here’s the scoop:

Sidebars: Most of the time, the theme you are using gives you two options. First, you can just leave the sidebars without widgets and the default stuff will show up. Usually Categories, Archives by month, Search, Pages, and Meta Data.  And the second option is to use Widgets.

To use the default sidebars:

1. In your administration panels, go to [Appearance] -> [Widgets].
2. Remove all widgets from within each sidebar.
3. Start with the first sidebar on the right hand side of the screen, click on the down arrow to expand the panel.
4. If there are boxes / widgets in that sidebar, click on [remove].  That one box will disappear.
5. Continue until all the boxes are gone.
6. The sidebar with no widgets will display the default ones.

Widgets: Essentially these are little pieces of code. Developers know what pieces of code do what, and where they should go. So you don’t even have to cut and paste these babies. They’re wrapped with a cute bow, and tagged, “Plugins.”

Some math for you:

Widgets: those pieces of code that come within your WordPress Download.  Let’s call them “W”. Sounds mathematical, no?

Plugins: those pieces of code that do NOT come with your initial Download. We’ll call these “P”.

To use Widgets: (W)

1. In your admin panels, go to [appearance] -> [widgets].
2. Select the first sidebar shown on the right hand side of the screen.
3. Now drag and drop the boxes from the left over to the right. I know! Drag & Drop, right? Doesn’t it make you want to kiss those ppl at WordPress? Me too. Oh.  Just me?
   
4. Sometimes there is an option or two to configure within the widget.  When you have entered the title and/or other options, click on “Save”.
5. If you have more than one sidebar, just follow these steps to use widgets in each and every one of them. Use as many or as little as you like.

To use Plugins: (P)

We will go through this in depth later, I think that Heather has already addressed a couple of plugin must-haves. But for now, you need to know that the number of widgets that you have in that left column is only a fraction of what is available. There is a whole ‘nother geekier world of plugin-developers. They write those beautiful packages. To find out what I’m talking about, go to the Plugin Repository and search for “widgets”. All those plugins can be added to your sidebar widget list! (W – did you remember?)

You can add plugins from within the Plugins panel, “Add New”; where you can search for a plugin in the official repository or you can upload one from your computer.  And unless you are writing plugins yourself, you would have downloaded that plugin from the web at some point.  CAUTION: only use plugins that you trust!!

Now, you know the first letter of both Plugins and Widgets. That’s quite mathy of you.

Q:  Why is my sidebar swinging below my content?

A:  9 times out of 10, it is the same reason: there is an unclosed division within an html/text widget.  Hang in there with me, I intend to explain this in English, I promise.

The Problem:

Your browser thinks that your sidebar belongs with the main content area.  If you look closely, you’ll notice that the sidebar is NOT under the left hand sidebar (if you have one) or under the footer, or any other area.  The sidebar is under the main content area.  It thinks it belongs there.

The Cause:

One possible cause is that in the process of editing your sidebar content, you put an instruction in there that you didn’t really mean to.

The Fix: Save the Sidebar!

Over the next week, I’m going to go through the causes of this problem, in layman’s terms.  The concepts apply across the board for all websites written with html and stylesheets.  However, the particulars of fixing it, will be specific to WordPress’s administration panels and user-friendly buttons.

Important Note: If this doesn’t apply to you yet awesome!  Bookmark these tutorials and go on your bloggy way.    However, this happens to all of us at one time or another (unless you don’t edit your sidebars ever).