How to delete classic widgets without paying for an upgrade
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I’m trying to delete classic widgets from my site, but the only information I’ve been able to find about how to do that involves utilizing a plugin, Classic Widgets, that is only available for paid plans. How do I delete classic widgets without that plugin?
WP.com: Yes
Jetpack: No
Correct account: YesThe blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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You don’t need to have a plugin in order to delete existing widgets. Since your above site is using a very old theme (Ambiru), which uses the Customizer, you should be able to delete them at Appearance>Widgets.
Dismiss the “Welcome to Block Widgets” popup if it appears and then look at the toolbar at the left top of the center column and you should see an icon that looks like a hamburger sliding sideways. Click it and a list of your current widget areas should appear. Click on the widget area to expand it and from there you can click on each widget you want to remove and then hit the “delete” button. Remember to click the Update or Save button when you are done.
Be aware that many older widgets have been converted to blocks, but I’m guessing that you’ll only have “Legacy” widgets. Once a Legacy widget has been deleted, it may not be possible to recover it.
This support guide is about adding widgets, but the info and screenshots should help https://wordpress.com/support/widgets/#add-widgets
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Thank you SO much for this detailed help. However, I’m still not able to find the items I want to delete. When I click on the “sliding hamburger” menu I get options for Footer 1, Footer 2, and Inactive Widgets. There is nothing listed under Footer 1 or Footer 2, and under Inactive Widgets I don’t see what I’m looking for, which is the links at the bottom of my blog page (HDR photos, Kiva invitation page, and Newser articles). Any insight as to why those aren’t showing up for me?
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What site are you talking about because I don’t see those things on http://stevann.wordpress.com/
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It’s at the very bottom under the button to click to load “older posts.” On the left side it says “Categories,” on the right “Other Stuff.” Underneath those 2 widgets are “Archives.” I can’t figure out how to include a picture otherwise I’d attach a screenshot… thanks so much for your help!
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This is what I see at the bottom of your site (How to take and share a screenshot)
Let me clarify, when you expanded the Footer 1 and Footer 2 widget areas, there was nothing in either area? Did you also look directly in Appearance>Customizer>Widgets rather than Appearance>Widgets?
I’m not seeing the other items you mentioned in your reply to @staartmees “(HDR photos, Kiva invitation page, and Newser articles).” Are those “inactive” widgets or do they appear on a different page?
But let me ask a question, why do you want to remove those widgets? If you are going to start up a new blog or restart your old blog, you could change themes on your current site.
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Thank you so much, I’ll try to include screenshots below. Correct, there is nothing in the Footer 1 and Footer 2 widget areas, whether I look at Appearance>Customizer>Widgets or at Appearance>Widgets. This is what I tried to include in my screenshots, is what I see (there appears to be nothing in either footer to delete).
It’s the 3 links under “Other Stuff,” which can be seen in your screenshot, that I want to delete. I just don’t want them on the blog anymore. Are you saying changing the theme could fix that problem as well?
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TBH-with Ambiru being so outdated for modern browsers and mobile, I’d change themes just for that reason. But I understand when people love the look of their site and hesitate to make that change. Once you switch away from a retired theme, you can’t go back to it.
There is another possibility that this “sidebar” (and, surprise, not footer according to FF inspector) is hard-coded into the theme. That is only my guess because I have no way to test this. But if that is the case, it’s taking information from your dashboard and displaying it. You can, however, test this by try adding or deleting a Link from the Links section in your dashboard to see if it changes anything.
If that doesn’t work, I’m pretty much out of ideas here.
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