Previously I described one method to add custom widgets areas by copying and modifying theme files:
Now I’d like to describe another possibility when it comes to adding widgets area above or below a post or page – by adding the_content filter.
I once had a desire to provide a list of shortcuts on the home page for my blog’s new users. I didn’t like the default WordPress’ blog page to be just a list of posts. I didn’t think that sidebar widgets grouping posts by date, category or tag would be helpful enough to grasp the versatility of the topics I cover here. I wanted to display a clear list of links with what a user can read about.
…I am using a free theme that provides only one widgets area – a sidebar. In its paid version, though, there is also another widget area – footer. The theme displays a copyright message in the footer and provides no method (in the free version) to change or remove it.
Currently, I would like to change the copyright message and add a link to the Privacy Policy page. In the future maybe I will want to put something else. So I could have either hardcoded the text and link into my theme or I could create an extensible solution.
I decided I would add a new widget area in the footer. The contents of it could be configured using WordPress’ Theme Customization feature (Appearance > Customize > Widgets).
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