31 Best & Most Downloaded WordPress Widgets (Sidebar Plugins)

Article Note: This article was first published on 22nd August 2014. We have last updated this article on 6th June 2018 with fresh information.

WordPress plugin widgets play an important role to make your website look perfect by offering you tactical features. There is a wide range of widgets you can find to enhance the quality and performance of your website. The collection comprises of some awesome WordPress widgets that are as follows: sidebar manager widgets, profile widgets, custom widget area plugins, rating widgets, testimonial widgets, recent posts widgets, social media widgets, twitter widgets and a lot more.

Here is a list of unique WordPress plugin widgets that you definitely don’t want to miss:

You may also like: Building a Professional WordPress Website Using a Free Theme (without Coding).

Category Posts Widget

This WordPress widget performs just one job. Since it deals with displaying recent posts from a specific category, it is known as light widget.

There are many features of this widget. There an option allows changing the order of posts. It has a feature which helps to display thumbnail images. You can manage the number of post to be displayed. It can display the excerpt of posts for a specific period of time. You can also show the posts date and comment count. You can also link the category page with widget title.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is TipTopPress. The name of the publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get published on October 24, 2007. It was last get updated on December 28, 2022.

Simple Social Icons

A customizable, easy to use way to display social icons on a website, the Simple Social Icons is one of the most popular social media plugins. It allows you to customize the icons to match the look and feel of your website. You can also align icons to center, left or right.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is StudioPress. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get published on February 21, 2012. It was last get upgraded on November 01, 2022.

WordPress Popular Posts

It is a highly customizable widget for displaying popular posts on the website. You can list posts on the blog that have been popular in a specific time range. It is also possible to see how the posts are performing using the admin dashboard. You can easily customize the look and feel of the posts as per the theme of the site. The widget also allows WPML support.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is Hector Cabrera. It is published by WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on November 20, 2008. It was last get updated on November 27, 2022.

Maps Widget for Google Maps

Setting up a Google Maps plugin can be time consuming! Well, this Google Maps widget completely solves the problem. It allows you to have Google Maps with the precise location in thumbnail and lightbox within few minutes. There are general, thumbnail and interactive map options. You can also add captions and pins to it.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is WebFactory Ltd. The publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on August 06, 2012. It was last get upgraded on March 07, 2023.

Page Builder by SiteOrigin

It is one of the most popular page creation plugins for page creation in WordPress. It is possible to create responsive column based content for the website. The widget ensures that the content is mobile ready and accurately adapts to different mobile devices. The plugin has an intuitive interface that is easy to use.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is SiteOrigin. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get released on April 13, 2013. It was last get upgraded on March 04, 2023.

WP Super Cache

It is an essential plugin that generates static HTML from Dynamic WordPress pages. The HTML file generated on the server is easier to process than heavier and expensive WordPress PHP scripts. One cached file can be used thousands of times. It serves cached files in 3 different ways and also cache the widgets. This plugin is mainly used to cache pages for known URLs and more.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is Automattic. It is available at WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get released on November 05, 2007. It was last get updated on March 10, 2023.

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle

This is not just a single widget, it is a bundle of powerful widgets in a single bundle. With this plugin, you can build advanced forms, get Google Maps Widget, Image widget, Button widget and a lot more. The widget also offers 1500+ icons and unlimited color options. It is easily compatible with other popular widgets.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by SiteOrigin. It is available at WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on June 01, 2014. It was last get upgraded on March 15, 2023.

Shared Counts – Social Media Share Buttons

Shared Counts widget provides a single click option to retrieve Http and Https URLS. It is the fastest social media plugin present in the market. It can be used for a range of popular networks like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Yummly, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. It works to get social share count for each social media platform.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is published by WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get published on February 14, 2018. On December 19, 2022, it was last get upgraded.

Smush – Lazy Load Images, Optimize & Compress Images

It is a 100 percent free WordPress image smusher. Incredibly powerful, this widget resizes, optimizes and compresses images. This award-winning widget has been tested for quality and speed. It is particularly useful for websites that get slowed down due to high size of images. Along with images, it also cuts down all unnecessary data that slows down a website.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The author name is WPMU DEV. The publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on December 05, 2008. It was last get upgraded on March 13, 2023.

upPrev

Displaying content in a cool and animated way is easy with upPrev. This widget provides a NY-Times like layout for related posts. It displays a fly out in the bottom right of the screen along with the related post. It allows the user to select previous or random post. The button animates user scrolls to the button of the page.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by Marcin Pietrzak. The name of the publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get published on August 11, 2011. It was last get updated on June 02, 2022.

Relevanssi – A Better Search

Relevanssi offers a free version along with a premium one. The premium version has added features. This widget replaces the standard search available in WordPress. It not only provides a better search engine but also gives a lot of configurable options. The search results are sorted by relevance instead of dates. It also matches fuzzy words and partial phrases.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The author name is Mikko Saari. It is available at WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get published on June 30, 2009. It was last get upgraded on February 01, 2023.

AddToAny Share Buttons

AddToAny is a WordPress sharing plugin. It is mainly popular because it increases engagement and traffic to a website. It allows people to share their posts and pages to any platform like Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and more. This widget is a universal sharing platform, making site social media ready.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The author name is AddToAny. The name of the publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get released on March 17, 2007. It was last get updated on July 27, 2022.

Meks Smart Author Widget

This is a simple WordPress plugin that allows you to display author or user information. It comes with flexible display options and custom avatar size. The plugin also offers several options for linking avatar image, username and others to author archive. It is very useful for multi-author blogs. Display author details in a stylish way with this WP widget.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The author name is Meks. It is published by WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on January 09, 2014. On February 27, 2023, it was last get upgraded.

Customize Feeds for Twitter

Twitter Widget displays your latest tweets on your website. You are allowed to submit your tweets on your website live. You can hide or show reply to tweets and auto expand images in tweets. The twitter widget is one of the most sought-after widgets that let you do a lot of customization.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by Weblizar. It is published by WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on May 22, 2014. It was last get upgraded on March 18, 2023.

Image Widget

Image widget lets you to upload the image from your media gallery or you can simply add link of the external image you wish to add to your site. You can add title as well as description of the image. Besides this, you can customize the appearance by using theme overrides or filter hooks available within this unique plugin.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by The Events Calendar. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on July 26, 2008. On May 06, 2022, it was last get upgraded.

Widget Context

Widget context lets you to display or hide widgets on specific parts of your website such as search section, archive, pages, posts, front page etc. This WordPress plugin also features specific sections aiming towards URLs to achieve better flexibility. This plugin has got more than 60000+ active installations and you need WordPress 3.0 version to install it.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is Kaspars Dambis. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get released on July 16, 2009. It was last get upgraded on May 07, 2021.

Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin

It sticks a calendar grid on your page which shows all the events. This unique widget offers an effective way to add Google calendar events to your website. It is very convenient to set up and customized according to user needs. The design of the calendar perfectly matches with the style of website theme.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by Simple Calendar. It is published by WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on July 05, 2010. On March 20, 2023, it was last get upgraded.

Testimonials Widget

This extraordinary widget allows you to slide quotes, portfolios, images, reviews or videos on your website. Testimonials widget lets you to add testimonial content through theme shortcode with display options like organized or random ordering. You can filter content using post ID, tags and categories with this WordPress widget.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by Axelerant. It is available at WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get released on August 15, 2011. On May 03, 2022, it was last get upgraded.

Search Meter

If you have created search box on your website then search meter widget lets you to automatically track what users are searching for. Above all, this widget also tells you whether visitors are finding what they are searching for. Considering the data given by search meter, you can create new posts or blogs on the topics that visitors are searching for.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". The name of the author is Bennett McElwee. It is available at WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get published on June 02, 2008. It was last get upgraded on January 04, 2023.

Lightweight Widget Area Plugin – Content Aware Sidebars

Content Aware Sidebars lets you to develop customized widget areas for any page or blog post. The amazing thing about this plugin is that you don’t need any coding to do so. It mainly focuses on scalability parameter and that’s why it acts as a perfect solution for websites which are in emerging phase.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by Joachim Jensen - DEV Institute. It is published by WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on August 03, 2011. It was last get updated on December 17, 2022.

Black Studio TinyMCE Widget

What is so special about this widget is that it lets you to add visual editor widget type using which you can add media objects and valid text in your sidebars. You can easily add videos or images from media library using this widget. It also lets developers to switch between HTML and visual mode very easily.

It is listed under "WordPress Plugin" > "Widgets". It is developed by Black Studio. The publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. It was first get available on November 10, 2011. It was last get upgraded on July 05, 2022.

Conclusion:

Presence of WordPress widgets makes it easy to customize website layouts and have become a game changer in WordPress. From adding social media icons to popular posts, emails subscriptions and calendar, there are widgets for every aspect of a website. Widgets help leverage the adaptability of a WordPress website and draw attention to important parts of the website. Above mentioned list of widgets is one of such kind that will help to make a great difference to your website.

This article is written by Stephen John. He is working as a blogger at Key Difference. His area of expertise is on website designing, Social Media and SEO.