SIdebar

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  nyshazia · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 4:39 pm

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  I don’t see a sidebar on my blog, how can I add one?

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 4:44 pm

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  Be aware that not every theme is designed to have a sidebar. Some have footer widgets areas only. Consult your theme description here http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/visual/ and read what you find there please. You cannot have a front page sidebar because that’s not how the theme is designed.

  Widgets
  You can configure a sidebar only on single posts and pages by going to Appearance → Widgets.

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  nyshazia · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 4:47 pm

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  on the theme description it states that it does have a side bar, why wouldn’t it be showing? Also I added my gravatar, profile picture, which also isn’t showing. Any ideas, thanks in advance :)

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 4:52 pm

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  I repeat that the sidebar will not appear on the front page of the blog because the theme is not designed to have a front page sidebar. It will appears only on posts when their titles are clicked and the full posts are displayed on their own pages, and it will appear on static pages. Are you clear on that yet?

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 4:53 pm

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  If you want an old fashioned theme with a sidebar on every page in the whole blog including the front page then then choose another theme here > http://wordpress.com/themes/

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  nyshazia · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 4:54 pm

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  Okayyy, lol thanks. Which theme would you suggest that is similar to visual? Any thoughts on why my profile photo is not showing?

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:00 pm

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  Gravatars display only next to comments and not on posts. Gravatars/blavatars do not show up instantly after uploading them. Gravatar images are cached and frequently take several days to display after a change. Do not keep uploading!

  See: http://en.support.wordpress.com/avatars/blavatars/
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/avatars/gravatars/
  For best practices for uploading gravatars, avatars and blavatars scroll down to below the video here: http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2010/01/24/gravatar-avatar-blavatar/

  To enable Gravatar display and hovercard display on your blog go to > Settings > Discussion and scroll way done the page to “Avatars”.
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/gravatar-hovercards/

  P.S. Use the feature filters by clicking the big blue find a theme button in the Themes Showcase to locate the 194 two column themes you can select from here > http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/features/two-columns/

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  nyshazia · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:03 pm

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  The reason I wanted a sidebar was to add widgets. Is there another way to add widgets, without having a sidebar?

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:07 pm

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  Widget areas are in sidebars of footer areas only. You cannot place place a widget anywhere else. Themes are “off the shelf”. Theme functionality cannot be changed but some appearance changes can be made by purchasing an annually renewable custom design upgrade and doing the required CSS editing.
  See here for details on purchasing the annually renewable custom and CSS editing:
  Custom design – Frequently Asked Questions
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/#frequently-asked-questions
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/editing-css/
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/custom-fonts/

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  nyshazia · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:12 pm

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  So if I change themes now, will it delete all my work, posts, etc?

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:16 pm

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  No that won’t happen. A theme is just a skin. You can quickly and easily change themes to another one found here http://wordpress.com/themes/ and no data will be lost or negatively affected by the change. The only time you may have to do some work is if you are changing to a dramatically different theme and have done any CSS editing.

  Provided you are logged in as Admin under the same username account that registered the blog go to Dashboard > Appearance > Themes and browse themes until you find one you like and click “activate” or type in the name of the theme you want to use and
  click the “activate” link when it appears.

  After you change your theme all you need to do is go here Dashboard > Appearance > Widgets > Inactive Widgets and re-install them where you want them to appear. The widget contents and settings will be the same as they were prior to changing themes.

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  nyshazia · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:20 pm

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  Thanks so much for your help.

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  timethief · Member · Feb 17, 2014 at 5:21 pm

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  You have learned a lot about themes here that you can now rely on. You’re welcome and best wishes with your blog. :)