Wordpress Gurus...I need HELP...can't see widgets or plug-ins I install.

[jayeskreezy]

Ok so I just recently started a wordpress site and I installed some plug-ins and widgets. I activated them on my wordpress site, but for some reason when I select Sidebar 1 to add them to my page they don't show up.

I've tried to add a twitter widget and skype and flickr. I know they work, but I can't figure out how to view it on my site. Does it have something to do with the height of my page or my margins? I'm using a template at the moment. I'm fairly familiar with CSS, but I have no idea how to use or where to put php code.

Also, I installed the Easy Contact form, but I can't figure out how to make a page dedicated to the contact form only. I thought Wordpress was supposed to be easy, but this is frustrating me.

Also, this is not the free wordpress site, but the paid one through my hosting company. I'll provide the link to the site, but I'd prefer to do it in a PM.

 

[torndownunit]

Well with the contact form I know you just have to put a line of code on whatever page you want the content on.

EG with the contact form plug-in I have, it's:

[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]

In the Plug In is where I set up the specifics of "Contact form 1". Then put it on the page with that line of code. That is a few of the plug-ins I use work. And it's usually in the plug-in documentation or support page.

Wordpress widgets seem to install all over the place. So you may have to search through some menus. Depending on what type of widget they are, I have the settings in Pages, Tools, Links... whatever area the widget usually applies to.

I think the root of the problem is you are just not reading the documentation that comes with each widget. You kinda have to do that because you don't always just hit 'activate' and they function. You have to set them up.

 

[jayeskreezy]

Well with the contact form I know you just have to put a line of code on whatever page you want the content on.

EG with the contact form plug-in I have, it's:

[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]

In the Plug In is where I set up the specifics of "Contact form 1". Then put it on the page with that line of code. That is a few of the plug-ins I use work. And it's usually in the plug-in documentation or support page.

Wordpress widgets seem to install all over the place. So you may have to search through some menus. Depending on what type of widget they are, I have the settings in Pages, Tools, Links... whatever area the widget usually applies to.

I think the root of the problem is you are just not reading the documentation that comes with each widget. You kinda have to do that because you don't always just hit 'activate' and they function. You have to set them up.

Thanks! Yeah, I figured it out. It was the layout of the theme. I switched themes. I wish I could find a sidebar twitter widget that worked properly with the newest version of wordpress.

 

[FourCandles]

Thanks! Yeah, I figured it out. It was the layout of the theme. I switched themes. I wish I could find a sidebar twitter widget that worked properly with the newest version of wordpress.

I've had similar issues with WP widgets and themes. If you install widgets into a sidebar with one theme active and then install another theme, often you'll "lose" the widget. I believe this is because you've actually installed the widget in a custom sidebar of the theme, rather than the default sidebar.

Installing themes and widgets and then "removing" them, as you do when trying out themes etc., often leaves database tables behind if the script doesn't remove them itself. AFAIK the only way to solve this is to use phpMyadmin to manually edit the database, or when you've finished development just make a fresh install of WP and only install the theme and widgets you've decided on.

 

[torndownunit]

I've had similar issues with WP widgets and themes. If you install widgets into a sidebar with one theme active and then install another theme, often you'll "lose" the widget. I believe this is because you've actually installed the widget in a custom sidebar of the theme, rather than the default sidebar.

Installing themes and widgets and then "removing" them, as you do when trying out themes etc., often leaves database tables behind if the script doesn't remove them itself. AFAIK the only way to solve this is to use phpMyadmin to manually edit the database, or when you've finished development just make a fresh install of WP and only install the theme and widgets you've decided on.

Do you think deactivating all the widgets before switching a theme (and reference to them on pages), then activating them again would help? Just curious for future reference. I am fairly new to Wordpress (only done 2 installs) and haven't had to switch themes mid design at all.

 

[FourCandles]

Do you think deactivating all the widgets before switching a theme (and reference to them on pages), then activating them again would help? Just curious for future reference. I am fairly new to Wordpress (only done 2 installs) and haven't had to switch themes mid design at all.

I think that would help, yes. You wouldn't need to delete the references to them on the pages if it's just a simple code embedded in a WP page (e.g. like the contact form mentioned above), just deactivating and reactivating should do it. However, if you reference the plugin by way of editing the PHP files then you should comment the code out to avoid PHP errors.