How to Create a Sidebar in WordPress in Quick Easy Steps 

Introduction 

One of the most valued paging elements is the sidebar, which boosts engagement on your site. The sidebars infuse most of the content elements, contributing to a well-organized appearance for the entire page. If you aim to establish your website as a professional platform for users, sidebars become highly necessary. They efficiently store extravagant details and information, ensuring that the main area maintains a minimal and attractive look.

Mostly content-heavy websites look for the best content organization and more space on their posts and pages. If you are one of them, this blog is a complete solution for you. We have found the best possible ways to help you create a sidebar in WordPress website. Also, you will find in-depth insights into the sidebar of your website. 

What is a WordPress Sidebar? 

The name itself says that a sidebar lies in the side area of your website’s page or post. Either on the left or on the right side, a panel filled with additional features and elements is the sidebar. 

A sidebar is the side area that leaves the main area to have the important content to display. Being on the side, sidebars have more importance than the main area. If a website lacks a sidebar, the additional information will create a mess, and this looks unprofessional. These are mostly dependent on the theme the user has used for its website. 

Types of Sidebars in WordPress

For most of them, this might be a new concept of having sidebars on their websites. But let me light you up: sidebars are either placed on the left or right side of the page.

This is where we can configure the two types of sidebar examples on the website: Left and Right Sidebar

Sometimes, it becomes a huge question about where to exactly place the sidebar on the website. Some websites place their sidebars on the left, as this is the reading pattern from left to right. While some place the sidebars on the right, making it unique. 

It is highly observed that e-commerce shops or any online stores have sidebars placed on the left. As the user mostly looks for additional features on the left side, it becomes easier to grab their attention. 

On the contrary, you must take an A/B test by creating separate versions of your site with both left and right sidebars. Also, track how users are reacting to different sidebars placed on your site. 

How Do I Create a Sidebar in WordPress? 

Creating a sidebar in WordPress is not a crucial task when you know the right essentials to do. Most importantly, WordPress gives a choice of different methods to create websites with sidebars. So, here are some of the sidebar examples for you. 

Method 1: Create a Sidebar in WordPress Using Customizer 

This first method to make a sidebar in WordPress using the customizer is something that partially depends on the theme. Also, the number of widgets plays an important role when it comes to using the customizer to create a sidebar. 

Some of the WordPress themes offer multiple sidebars on the same page, whereas others offer only one. So here, we are using the default WordPress theme options to create a sidebar on your site. Also, you can adjust the sidebars if your theme has them in the form of widgets. This can be done using the WordPress Customizer. 

• Reach the Customizer option under the Appearance option from the dashboard area. 
• Choose Widgets from the left panel, and this will display the list of widget areas on your website. 
• You need to tap the Main Sidebar option, as this name may vary depending on which theme you have chosen. This will show the available list of sidebar widgets on your site. You can simply tap on any sidebar widget to expand the custom options under it.
• You can simply customize the sidebar widget by removing it, adding a new name, or rearranging its order. 
• Once done, simply tap the Done option to save the changes. 

This way, you can add or remove more sidebar widgets on your site. 

Method 2: Create a Sidebar in WordPress Using a Plugin 

The next method is to make a sidebar in WordPress using a WordPress plugin. This method is somehow easier than any other method, as the plugin itself takes charge.

To begin with, you need to select the perfect WordPress sidebar plugin to help you out. Here, we are using the Custom Sidebars plugin to demonstrate the work. This is the quality that helps in creating the finest custom sidebars on your site. You can evenly manage and replace your site’s sidebars with custom ones. This plugin works with every theme and does not require any codes to form sidebars. 

Steps to Add a Sidebar:

• To begin the process, you need to first install and activate the Custom Sidebars plugin on your site. 
• Once you have the plugin activated on your site, reach the Widgets option under the Appearance tab of the dashboard. 
• There, you need to tap the “Create a New Sidebar” button. This will further take you to add a name and description of the new sidebar on your site. 
• If you have an idea to create multiple sidebars, then make sure you choose a name that you can easily remember. 
• You need to now decide the elements under the sidebar menu, which can be easily added using the drag-and-drop facility. You can easily drag and drop elements from the available widgets column. 
• Now what you need to do is place the custom sidebar on your website’s frontend section. This is a myth: the custom sidebar won’t appear on the front end unless you tell the plugin to do this. 
• And to make this happen, visit the Appearance tab and then the Widgets Custom Sidebar section. 
• Locate the newly created sidebar and select “Sidebar Location’. Make sure you have selected another sidebar as the replaceable option. Otherwise, you will get a pop-up message saying, “Select at least one replaceable sidebar.”.
• For this new sidebar, also check the box “Allow Sidebar to be Replaced” under the sidebar section.
• The next screen will show you a list of criteria, including the sidebar and footer options. This will enable you to choose under which category the sidebar should be displayed. 
• And make sure that you have saved all the changes after selecting the criteria, and it's done. 

Method 3: Create a Sidebar in WordPress Using a WordPress Theme 

The third method tells us to create a sidebar using the WordPress theme. Well, you must know the method works best if you choose a WordPress theme with sidebar feature.

Building a custom sidebar becomes much easier when you choose the right theme for it. Fortunately, WordPress allows this feature in most themes. You need to look for such themes on the web. Again, it will be a crucial task to know which themes are contained in the sidebar options.

We are here to make this easier for you. Among so many platforms selling out their precious themes on the web, there is the VW Themes platform. This is the place where themes not only qualify with the finest features but also come with custom sidebar options attached. Using these themes you can easily create a sidebar in WordPress website.

VW Themes owns a lot of themes and never fails to bring out the best in your content management. This is where they help you create the best structure for your site by providing left and right sidebar options. The themes make sure that the user has a good experience with the interface. The sidebar features are meant to be sophisticated, and VW Themes provides advanced functionality for this. There is no need to add codes or extra effort to add a sidebar with VW Themes. These themes are well-qualified and require no codes to add any sort of feature. And here are some of the best WordPress themes by VW that will help you encounter the best sidebar options. 

This is one of the best-selling bootstrap sidebar template by VW, giving power to e-commerce businesses on the web. The niche requires heavy content that can be easily managed by sidebars. So, this theme allows the addition of sidebars with left and right facilities. 

The premium car dealership theme is something that fascinates all car and automotive dealers on the web. The theme is meant to have robust and cutting-edge features for car dealership websites. What makes it more powerful is the sidebar functionality that brings value to the automotive content. 

The LMS Education theme owns the modern education world with its highly embraced and modern interface. The theme is designed with the intent of delivering best-class educational features. Also, you will find a professional organization of sidebars and custom sidebar features for your educational firms. 

Conclusion 

You are never too late to organize your website’s content to make it look sophisticated and organized. This is where you need sidebars on your site to add additional features and content to your page. Creating custom sidebars is highly praised, as you own them with the required features. 

WordPress highly allows adding this feature to its configuration with advanced functionality. You must even know about the sidebar and its types when adding it to your site. Also, WordPress has several methods to create a sidebar in WordPress. We have mentioned three methods that will help you create the best sidebars on your site.

If you are building your websites with sidebars, checkout VW themes WP theme bundle. This bundle consists of themes for all niche and have attractive sidebars. So, why wait? Hurry up and buy bundle right away!