Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager vs Widget Visibility Control

Manage and replace sidebars and other classic widget areas on your site with Custom Sidebars, a flexible widget area manager. Make custom sidebar configurations and be able to choose what classic widgets display on each page or post of your site. Need to make a widget sticky or fixed? Try our free WP Sticky Anything plugin. Custom Sidebars works ONLY with the classic widgets screen that was used in WordPress before version 5.8. If you want to use it with version 5.8 (and above) you have to install the official Classic Widgets plugin, or enable the classic widgets interface yourself. Once the classic widgets screen is activated the plugin will work the same as before. Having problems setting up SSL or generating an SSL certificate? Install the free WP Force SSL plugin. Display Different Sidebars on Pages and Posts Custom Sidebars allows you to dynamically display custom widget configurations on any page, post, category, post type, or archive page. ★★★★★ “Custom Sidebars will go on my “essential plugins” list from now on. I am pleased by how easy it was to figure out and by how many options are available in the free version.” – monkeyhateclean ★★★★★ “This plugin does exactly what it says. It’s light, integrates well into WordPress and gives you tons of possibilities.” – DarkNova Every part of Custom Sidebars integrates seamlessly with the Widgets menu for simplicity and control. No confusing settings pages or added menu items, just simple core integration. A Simple Flexible Sidebar Manager ** Custom Sidebars Includes: ** * Unlimited custom widget configurations * Set custom widgets for individual posts and pages, categories, post types, and archives * Seamless integration with the WordPress Widgets menu * Works with well-coded themes and doesn’t slow down your site * Set individual widget visibility – for guests, by user role, by post type, for special pages or categories * Author specific sidebars – display a custom sidebar for each of your authors * Clone and sync widget settings – quickly edit complex configurations * Import and export custom sidebars – backup and share sidebars Install Custom Sidebars and see for yourself why it’s the most popular widget extension plugin available for WordPress with over 200,000 active installs. Contact and Credits Original development completed by Javier Marquez.

Widget Visibility Control lets you decide exactly where each widget appears on your site. Show widgets only on specific pages, hide them for logged-out users, display different content for different categories – all without writing a single line of code. Looking for Widget Visibility and Scheduling? This plugin gives you control over where your widgets appear: Page targeting – Show widgets on the front page, blog page, specific pages, or 404 error page Content targeting – Display widgets only on certain categories, tags, or custom taxonomies Cascading taxonomy selector – Quickly find terms in sites with many taxonomies (WooCommerce friendly) Include child terms – Match child terms automatically for hierarchical taxonomies User targeting – Show different widgets to logged-in users vs. visitors Role-based display – Target specific user roles (administrators, editors, subscribers, etc.) Capability targeting – Go finer than roles and target a specific capability (manage_options, edit_posts, or any capability your plugins add) Single content, sticky posts and paginated archives – Conditions for any single content, for sticky posts, and for page 2 and beyond of an archive Author pages – Control visibility on author archive pages Date archives – Target daily, monthly, or yearly archives Post type support – Works with custom post types and their archives Time scheduling – Schedule widgets to appear only during specific date and time ranges. Perfect for promotional banners, seasonal offers, holiday announcements, flash sales, event countdowns, and time-limited content JSON export and restore – Download all your visibility rules as a file and load them back when you need them, merging into the current setup or replacing it Multiple Conditions Create sophisticated visibility rules by combining multiple conditions: Use OR logic – Show if ANY condition matches Use AND logic – Show only if ALL conditions match Mix and match – Create exactly the rules you need Built for Performance Minimal database queries with intelligent caching Only loads assets where needed (widget screens) Clean, optimized code following WordPress standards Why Choose This Plugin? Lightweight – Focused functionality without unnecessary features All features included – No premium version required Jetpack Compatible – Migrate from Jetpack Widget Visibility without reconfiguring anything Independent Storage – Your rules are stored separately, safe from Jetpack changes Block Editor Ready – Works with both classic widgets and block-based widgets Privacy Focused – No external connections, no tracking, no data collection Safe by design – No PHP eval, no arbitrary code execution; rules are stored as structured data Coming from Jetpack? If you’ve been using Jetpack just for widget visibility and want to reduce your site’s load, this plugin can help: No configuration needed – Your existing visibility rules are automatically imported on activation Same familiar interface – The visibility panel works as you’re used to Keep or clean legacy data – Choose to maintain Jetpack compatibility or clean up completely No disruption – Your widgets will continue working as before Coming from Widget Logic? Widget Logic was closed on the WordPress.org plugin directory on 14 April 2026 and no longer receives updates. Widget Visibility Control is a safe, maintained alternative: No PHP eval – Visibility rules are stored as structured data, not as executable PHP code Assisted import – On detection of Widget Logic data, an importer translates the most common conditional tags (is_home, is_page, is_category, current_user_can, is_user_logged_in…) into proper visibility rules, including value lists and negated conditions. Works with data from both Widget Logic 5.x and 6.x Works even if you already removed it – The importer reads the rules Widget Logic left in your database, so it works whether the plugin is still active, deactivated, or deleted You decide what’s tricky – For rules we can’t translate automatically, the importer explains why and asks per widget whether to import as always visible, always hidden, or skip Original data preserved – Your Widget Logic data stays in the database until you choose to clean it up, and the original code of each imported widget is kept as a reference even after that Coming from Widget Options? If you only use Widget Options for visibility and want a lighter, focused plugin without the pro upsells: No pro version – All features included in the free plugin Visibility-first – We do one thing well: show/hide widgets based on pages, content, users, roles, and schedule Compatible interfaces – Works in the block-based widget editor, the classic widget editor, and the Customizer Quick try – Install alongside Widget Options to compare; switch when you’re ready Developer Friendly Follows WordPress Coding Standards Fully translatable with complete i18n support Action and filter hooks for customization Clean uninstall – removes only its own data Support Need private support or custom development? Do you need one-on-one help, priority troubleshooting, or a custom feature, integration, or tweak built specifically for your site? I offer private support and custom development. Just contact me and tell me what you need. Need help or have suggestions? Official website WordPress support forum YouTube channel Documentation and tutorials Love the plugin? Please leave us a 5-star review and help spread the word! About AyudaWP We are specialists in WordPress security, SEO, AI and performance optimization plugins. We create tools that solve real problems for WordPress site owners while maintaining the highest coding standards and accessibility requirements.