For the uninitiated, it might seem like a widget is just a funny name for an application you don't quite understand. But these days, thanks to the increasing popularity of widgets, most of us have either installed one on our web page, or clicked on one at some else's site.
Understanding widgets is essential to maintaining a useful and interactive website. A widget is technically anything that's embedded on a web page and holds content that's not static, and which is usually brought upon by third parties.
So, some widgets you might see include those for You Tube. A site on motorcycle racing, for example, might have a You Tube widget. When you click on the You Tube widget, you will be take to You Tube and might even be provided with a page that includes a variety of motorcycle racing videos.
At some sites, you might see a widget for Wordpress, and clicking on that widget will take you to the Wordpress blog that the site maintains. The widget will always include the logo or standard graphic of the site or company.
Let's consider how a few Twitter widgets work, since Twitter widgets are on websites and blogs the world over these days.
One of the most common is the widget created by Twitter itself. This usually includes the logo Twitter bird and the words, "follow me on Twitter". When you click on the widget, you're taken to the Twitter page of that person, or company. This is an excellent way for Twitter users to increase their number of overall followers.
Another useful Twitter widget is found at TweetThisSite. This widget works a bit in reverse, with website owners putting the widget on their page. Users, who think that they wouldn't mind promoting the site a bit, simply provide their Twitter log in information and the widget automatically places a post on the user's Twitter page that says the user is checking out the site and provides a link to the site.
Using these widgets is an easy, free way to increase visibility and get more traffic to a site. There are few methods to do these things that really work, but using widgets, which are unobtrusive but effective, is one method that really does work.
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