Future changes to currently installed widgets?
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My blog has the classic widgets installed in my right sidebar. Will these older widgets continue to function properly as is, or will they be converted at some point to the new format, suddenly changing their appearance and functionality? I’m worried about this, because I’ve noticed that the new block-widget format doesn’t include titles for most widgets, requiring a header block to be added above the widget.
I prefer to keep the old, classic widgets in place, since it is rather tedious to begin changing all my old blocks and adding header blocks. The appearance becomes somewhat degraded as well, with spacing issues. So, can I keep the old widgets in place, without worrying about these widgets suddenly losing their titles or other changes. I don’t want to be caught by surprise.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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The widget area was updated to the new WordPress block widget editor to follow the release of this editor in WordPress 5.8.
Most classic widgets have a corresponding block widget, so we recommend that you convert those classic widgets over now as the WordPress software will likely not support them in future releases.
https://wordpress.com/support/widgets/
You can also use the Legacy Widget block to select a widget that doesn’t have it’s own block as well.
The only way to keep the classic widget editor for your WordPress.com hosted site is to upgrade to a Business or eCommerce plan, which would allow you to install the Classic Widget Editor plugin.
I hope that clarifies things.
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This is a problem, since the new block widgets and other blocks are missing some of the functionality that existed in the classic widgets, such as the visibility settings. There are other issues as well. I would need to redesign my entire blog to accommodate what is being lost, but still would not regain the previous functionality.
The legacy widgets do not include many of the classic widgets, only some of them. So that is not helpful either. And how long will those continue to function?
The previous setup and functionality of our blogs should be left in place, and not disrupted because of an upgrade. WordPress should provide the option of keeping the classic widgets in place, especially for already existing blogs, without forcing us to upgrade our plan to recover functionality that we had in the past. I purchased the Personal plan this past spring to gain more functionality, not lose some of it, and then be required to pay more money to restore it.
At the very least, you should quickly restore visibility settings to the block widgets and other necessary blocks, such as headers, and give us time to migrate to the new block system before pulling the plug on the classics widgets. Also, you should notify us through email as to when the classic widgets will no longer work correctly in our current setups, so we have time to make changes, before our blogs suddenly look like a mess. This is very confusing and upsetting. Right now, instead of writing posts, I may need to redesign my entire blog to accommodate your changes and the lost functionality of the new system, since I have no idea what will continue to work or suddenly become disabled.
Also, from what I’ve read, the classic editor plugin is only a temporary solution for users who want to keep the classic widgets editor and widgets. At some point, that will expire too, and so we will still need to change everything. I’m not going to upgrade to the Business plan for a plugin that won’t work in in 2022 or a bit later.
All of this needs a lot more clarification. Seriously, it is very confusing and upsetting.
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We’re working on returning these features, including visibility settings.
I’ve passed on the feedback to our developers too, thanks!
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Thank you for the response.
I’m assuming that the visibility settings will be added to the widget blocks before the classic widgets become disabled, allowing us some time to convert to the blocks.
When will we know that the visibility settings have been restored? Is there some place to check for the updates?
Any chance that you can return the titles to the widget blocks as well? It is unwieldy having both a widget and separate header added above the widget. There are spacing issues, and it makes it less user friendly to shift the widgets up or down, since we need to move the headers separately. There is little space to align things properly, and so it is very tedious extra work. I’m thinking that a widget should be a self-contained unit that encapsulates all of the necessary functionality, instead of needing to add more pieces around it. This is what made them so valuable.and easy to use.
Finally, is there an estimated time when the classic widgets will stop functioning? I don’t mean to be a pest, but these are important things for us bloggers to know. I don’t want to wake up one morning and notice that nothing is working in my sidebar. And obviously I can’t convert anything until the new blocks work correctly.
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Hi there,
When will we know that the visibility settings have been restored? Is there some place to check for the updates?
Widget visibility is a feature that is specific to WordPress.com and sites with our Jetpack plugin. Our Github repo is public, so you can track that issue here: https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/issues/20057
Any chance that you can return the titles to the widget blocks as well? It is unwieldy having both a widget and separate header added above the widget. There are spacing issues, and it makes it less user friendly to shift the widgets up or down, since we need to move the headers separately.
We derive most of our platform from the open source WordPress project, which is the case for ‘block widgets’ as a concept. We don’t control that development directly (it’s a community project) but we’ve suggested adjustments to the spacing issue, which you can find here: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/34392
It’s my understanding that there are other initiatives to look at bundling or grouping headings and blocks to make a traditional “widget” but I could not find anything specific to that in Github. It’s on the radar though.
Finally, is there an estimated time when the classic widgets will stop functioning? I don’t mean to be a pest, but these are important things for us bloggers to know.
Yes, I totally understand that, and it can be a bit tricky to move on to something new (that will open up even more possibilities and flixibility) given that it’s rough around the edges at the moment.
There are no plans to ‘deactivate’ any active widgets you have now. If anything we’d remove the ability to add new classic widgets but the existing ones you have now should function just fine. I would not expect to wake up one morning to find all widgets are gone, and if that happens please let us know!
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