Widgets let you place content — recent posts, social icons, an Instagram feed, custom HTML — into your theme’s widget areas, such as the sidebar and footer.
Since WordPress 5.8, widget areas are edited with blocks, so you can use any WordPress block (Paragraph, Image, Gallery, Latest Posts…) in a widget area, alongside classic widgets from your theme and plugins.
You can drag blocks to reorder them inside an area, or drag them from one area to another.
Select the widget, open the options menu (⋮) in its toolbar, and choose Delete. Removing a widget also removes its settings — if you only want to hide it temporarily, move it to the Inactive widgets area at the bottom of the screen instead, which keeps its content and settings for later.
If you prefer to see your changes live as you make them, go to Appearance → Customize → Widgets. The same widget areas are available there, with a live preview of your site next to them.
Some people prefer the pre-5.8 drag-and-drop interface. Installing the free Classic Widgets plugin restores it — no settings needed, it works as soon as you activate it.
Widget areas differ from theme to theme — a magazine theme may offer several homepage areas, while a portfolio theme may only have a sidebar and footer. Check your theme’s own documentation in the WPZOOM Documentation for the full list and what each area does.
