Widgets and Whatnot

Over the past few years, the term "widget" has slipped into the vernacular of us technological civilians. Essentially, a widget is just a very useful gadget, designed to do something interesting. Some are useful, like a clock widget. Some are random, like the "Magic 8 Ball" widget.

Widgets can prove quite useful. They introduce a fun yet practical personal touch that could not be had via a website with a basic template, like Wordpress, Myspace or Facebook.

Some great widgets include the Box.net widget. The box.net widget is an extremely useful widget for file sharing. Another great widget is the "Twidget". A Twidget is a customizable Twitter widget. It shows the designated amount of your latest Twitter posts or lists. You can embed the widget on your facebook, blog or general website. The Twidget, as well as other fun miscellaneous items -including Twitter icons- can be found in the "goodies" section at the bottom of your Twitter page.

"Why are widgets so popular, anyway?"

Thanks to loving, all-merciful designers, widgets make it easy for you to change up your site without having to learn code. Why unnecessarily pay someone hundreds to thousands of dollars for a designer to sit at a desk and alter your website or widget when there are hundreds, if not thousands of widgets out there for you to explore? It maybe counter-intuitive on the part of web designers, but I suggest you take advantage, while they are still free.

"I've seen widgets but I don't know how to put them on my page".

After you customize your widget (if necessary), you are asked to copy a code. This is called an "embed code". Copy the embed code and place it in the desired place one your site. For those with a Wordpress template, you have two options. You can post the code onto a "page" or you can go to the "appearance" section on the left hand side of your dashboard. After clicking "widgets" you will notice that you already have a bunch of preset widgets. If you want to use a non-standard widget, copy the embed code into the "text" widget. Make sure your text widget is placed where you want it to show on your site. If you don't like the widget, no worries. Just erase the code. Make sure to keep track of when the code begins and ends. The last thing you want to do is erase a vital part of your website or post.

"Where can I get a widget?"

If you Google "useful widgets", a few million sites come up. I've found these two URLs to be useful:

http://mashable.com/2007/09/06/widgets-2/
http://www.widgetbox.com/galleryhome/

Happy widgeting!

WARNING: Widgets can be addictive. If your website is gaudily plastered with dozens of useless widgets and you find yourself up until midnight looking for more, seek help.

Natasha Thompson
http://www.NatashaTArts.com