How to add default Widgets to a custom dynamic sidebar

2
votes

I have added my custom dynamic sidebar using this code in WordPress

register_sidebar
(array(
'name' => __( 'My widget' ),
'id' => 'right-sidebar',
'description' => __( 'Widgets in this area will be shown on the right-hand side.' ),
'before_title' => '<h1>',
'after_title' => '</h1>'
));

Now I can see this dynamic sidebar in the WordPress admin, via Dashboard -> Appearance -> Widgets.

When I activate the Theme, by default this dynamic sidebar displays no content; to display Widgets (e.g. Recent Posts, Pages, Category) I have to drag them into the My Widget dynamic sidebar.

But I want the My Widget dynamic sidebar to display three Widgets (Recent Posts, Pages, Category) by default, similar to the dynamic sidebars in Twenty Ten or Twenty Eleven.

3
wordpress
Note to mods: this question would be a better fit for WPSE. – Chip Bennett

3 Answers

2
votes

This is fairly easy to do, using dynamic_sidebar() and the_widget().

This is the construct for displaying default content, if no Widgets are added to a dynamic sidebar:

<?php
if ( ! dynamic_sidebar( 'My_Widget' ) ) {
    // default content goes here
}
?>

So, to output specific Widgets as default content, simply call the_widget($widget, $instance, $args). For example, to display the "Recent Posts" Widget:

<?php
if ( ! dynamic_sidebar( 'My_Widget' ) ) {
    the_widget( 'WP_Widget_Recent_Posts' );
}
?>

(See the linked Codex references for additional usage examples, and $instance/$args values, for each Widget.)

1
votes

Well, it is a normal behavior, you just have to set default content for this sidebar in your theme. Take a look at twentyeleven/sidebar.php, you can do the same thing :

<?php if ( ! dynamic_sidebar( 'right-sidebar' ) ) : ?>
  Default content
<?php endif; ?>

And don't mistake, a sidebar is not a widget, it is a widget area.

0
votes

Its possible but not in terms of auto activate. What you need to do in the place where you required widget (suppose sidebar) sidebar is truly widget-ready and the administrator pops a new sidebar widget into the lineup, things will automatically switch over to use the admin's specified settings.

So yes, you can do it as a default.Not as auto active...

For more information https://stackoverflow.com/a/3057665/716492