Widget content REMAINS after deactivation

@anatoly:
Hi there!
Thanks for your feedback.
I guess you just mixed it up what my plugin really does and what you obviously wanted. My plugin only replaces the area of the “Back to Top” and the “Copyright line” with widgetized areas. Not more, not less.

The tutorial above adds footer widgets with 3 columns (my plugin only adds up to 2 columns!). The tutorial is quite implemented in Genesis core since about 2011. Only if your child theme currently has no support for the native footer widgets the tutorial applies. So if you use an older child theme from around 2010/2011 or have a custom theme without footer widgets support this tutorial may have some use. Otherwise to activate Genesis core support for footer widgets is one line of code, and you also can give the number of them with a parameter.
My plugin has nothing to do with these “Footer Widgets”, it doesn’t replace or add them! As I said, it only removes “Back to Top” and makes that line widgetized!

That said, back to your issue:
My plugin does not leave anything behind after deactivation! It only registers widget areas (a.k.a. “Sidebars”), on deactivation the registration is non-existent! So any widget that was placed in one of these areas (which was not deleted) will be still there in WordPress, either on the “Inactive Widgets” location or it “jumps” to any other widget area which might be there. This behavior is core WordPress behavior and has NOTHING to do with my plugin.

Regarding your screenshot:
This only shows 3 columns widgetized area which seems to come from the tutorial you implemented it is no hint to my plugin still existing! (That would only consist of up to 2 areas!).

I need a screenshot of your widgets admin backend of all the widget areas that are there in your install. Or just tell me if after deactivation of my plugin the following areas are showing:
– Footer Area #1
– Footer Area #2
– Footer Disclaimer

If you don’t see these areas in widget admin my plugin is not active and nothing of it will show in your frontend!!!

Please double check that.

If still not happy I could offer to have a look at your backend myself. My contact is: https://genesisthemes.de/en/contact/

Hope that helps!
Thanks, Dave ??

I cannot deactivate a LinkAlpha.com “Follow and Subscribe” widget. No matter if I transfer it to the deactivated list on the left side of the Widgets page, it always activates itself, to the top of the sidebar! I elected to just put it at the bottom of the sidebar for now, even though there is no point, the LinkedIn link gets a 404 response, I don’t have Google+ account, and it links to my personal FB page, not my professional office page. How do I get rid of this?

@sganis:
Hi there!
Thanks for your feedback!
Always open a new thread for every issue! I doubt it has anything to do with the original post.

Is this “LinkAlpha.com ‘Follow and Subscribe’ widget” another widget from a plugin or what is it?
You have it placed in one of the widget areas of my plugin, right?
I never heard that widgets or content is stuck in those areas — it’s completely WordPress standard. So if this other plugin/ widget is coded properly it should be removable.

Please try to explain more so I can understand a bit better what’s going on. Also screenshots and/or names of active theme and plugin mostly helps a bunch ??

I hope my answer helps a bit in the meantime.

Thanks, Dave ??