Description
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- Replace any sidebar in your theme.
- Replace multiple sidebars on the same page.
- Compatible with any theme and no coding is required.
The documentation for this plugin can be found here.
What does this plugin do?
- This plugin allows you to replace any sidebar/widget area in any WordPress theme (no coding required).
- You are able to replace multiple sidebars/widget areas on the same page.
- It allows you to manage your custom sidebar replacements in the WordPress Admin area.
- Allows you to apply the same sidebar replacement across all posts / all pages / all taxonomies / all custom post types with the click of a button.
- It also automatically detects any type of content in your theme: e.g. custom post types / pages / posts and allows you to replace any widget areas that exist on those pages.
- Automatic theme style detection: detects your themes styles and styles any custom sidebar replacements to match your theme styles. (no CSS styling required).
Plugin Features
- Create Unlimited Custom Sidebar Replacements: Replace widget areas on any page on your website.
- Activate/Deactivate Custom Sidebars with the click of a button.
- Works with any WordPress Theme that has any widget areas.
- Core WordPress Design: the admin area looks like its part of WordPress.
- New Admin Screen: React and WordPress REST API powered admin screen.
- Customizer Integration: Any sidebar replacements that you create will appear in the customizer for you to manage.
- Ajax Search: Easily find the page/post that contains the widget area you are looking to replace.
- Strong Usability Testing:x The UI has been designed with a UX first design.
Who is this Plugin ideal for?
- Anyone who is looking for an easy way to replace sidebars / widget areas without coding.
- Theme Authors: you can use this pluin to add unlimited sidebar functionality to your theme.
- Great for use on client projects or for use on existing websites with limited sidebars.
Developer Features
Please note: We are currently working on producing in-depth documentation for theme developers which will be available shortly.
- Cross Browser and Backwards Browser Compatible (Tested in all major browsers).
- Seamless WordPress Integration: Live preview is integrated into the WordPress Customizer and the settings page follows core WordPress design guidelines.
- Uses React and the WordPress REST API for an enhanced admin experience.
Credits and Donation
If you have found this plugin useful please donate here
Screenshots
Here is a theme with the default sidebar, we can replace this sidebar without writing a single line of code. 
Here is the same page but now we have replaced the default sidebar with our own. You can apply widget area replacements to a single page or across all pages/categories etc. 
Create new sidebars quickly in an easy to use admin interface. 
Choose where to apply your replacement. Show your sidebar on any/all posts/pages/categories/templates (and much more!). 
Manage the widgets for your custom sidebar on the native widgets screen. Integrates seamlessly with the WordPress admin area. 
Seamlessly integrates into the customizer so that you can manage your sidebars in realtime! 
Quickly manage all of your custom sidebars on the manage sidebar replacements screen. 
Installation
This section describes how to install the plugin and get it working.
e.g.
- Download the plugin
- Unzip the package and upload to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory or upload in the admin area.
- Log into WordPress and navigate to the “Plugins” panel.
- Activate the plugin labeled “Easy Custom Sidebars”.
- You’re done!
FAQ
For a quick video demo please view the plugin demo here!.
The documentation for this plugin can be found here.
Reviews
kenjikato
August 16, 2024
This plugin was installed with the theme my client is using, and it caused the sites menus to become unresponsive. Disabling it solve my issues.
flavponch
July 24, 2024
After 2 years of use on my site, the plugin no longer works since the WordPress 6.6 update…
I disable it…
cherrycommunicatie
August 22, 2022
Developer has not answered questions or did any updates for about a year.
Why do these plugins, that everyone finds so easy to use, never work for me
Try as a might, following the out of date video, and then the documentation, this plugin simply doesn’t work.
I created the sidebars, set up the Sidebar Replacements and it does nothing.
Such a shame, it looked like it was going to be a cool little plugin too
niagaracollege
March 29, 2021
Kudos to the plugin author. Mimics core perfectly and does exactly what I need it to do. Plus – no intrusive ads.
I’ve used this plugin for many years now and have always been very satisfied with the functionality as well as the support. Very reliable solution when you need to have a more complex, dynamic sidebar setup on your WordPress website.
Contributors & Developers
“Easy Custom Sidebars” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
“Easy Custom Sidebars” has been translated into 1 locale. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.
Translate “Easy Custom Sidebars” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.0.1 – Newline Character bugfix
- Remove unintentional newline character appearing in the widget output.
2.0.0 – Complete Plugin Rewrite and Optimisation
- Important: You need to have php 7.0+ installed on your server to use this plugin.
- Admin Screen Update: now rewritten in javascript/React and utilising the REST API.
- Huge UX testing and update.
- Huge improvement in query/data performance on the frontend.
- Backwards compatibility for older versions.
- Complete refactor/rewrite of the PHP codebase to simplify.
- Created github repo to drive development going forward.
- Using a TDD development process. Codebase has been tested for replacements and backwards compatibility.
1.0.9 – Update for WordPress Version 5.0
- Last minor update before major plugin rewrite.
1.0.9 – Update for new WordPress Version
- Updated CSS for the Admin UI.
1.0.8 – Update for new WordPress Version
- Fixed compatibility issue with WordPress 4.7 and the save_posts action.
1.0.7 – Update for new WordPress Version
- Fixed visual display issues on the settings page.
1.0.6 – Minor Bug Fix
- Fixed issue where pages with ampersands in the title weren’t being added to a custom sidebar.
1.0.5 – Bug Fix
- Fixed issue where sidebar was not displaying for post type archives.
1.0.4 – Feature Update and Bug Fix
- New Feature: Can add sidebars for author archive pages.
- The sidebar now persists on empty taxonomy pages.
- The sidebar now persists when there are no posts in search results.
- Fixed issue whereby taxonomy names with ampersands weren’t being added to the sidebar (had to manually esc_html for get_term_by function).
- Removed dependancy for global \$post object and use the get_queried_object() function when looking for a replacement.
1.0.3 – Admin Capability Check
- Prevents an error from being triggered in admin when a non-admin user doesn’t have the required capability to use the plugin.
1.0.2 – Important Update
- Addressed potential security issue on the plugin admin page – Hardened security and escaped any attributes passed via the URL throughout the plugin.
1.0.1
- Updated translation method.
1.0
- First plugin release.