Starting with WordPress 5.8, the widget management screen has switched to the Gutenberg block editor. You’ll find it under Appearance > Widgets in the admin area. If you’d like to restore the classic widget interface, you can install the Classic Widgets plugin.
The Root theme comes with its own custom widgets, which are available after you install and activate the theme.
Posts Widget
This widget works like a typical Related Posts block but offers more customization options and display settings.
Available options:
- Title: Widget title displayed on the site.
- Sorting: Choose how to sort posts (Random, By Views, By Comments, Newest First).
- Post IDs: Enter a comma-separated list of post IDs to display specific posts (e.g., 5,100,8,123).
- Category IDs: Filter posts by category IDs. Use a minus sign to exclude categories (e.g., -12,-35).
- Number of Posts: Set how many posts to show.
- Posts Published Within (Days): Limit results to posts published within a given number of days.
- Layout: Choose between Standard or Compact post cards.
- Hide Thumbnail: Option to hide post thumbnails.
- Hide Excerpt: Option to hide post excerpts.
- Hide Category: Option to hide the post category.
- Hide Comment Count: Option to hide the number of comments.
- Hide View Count: Option to hide the number of views.
- Open Links in New Tab: Make post titles open in a new browser tab.
Top Commenters
This widget displays a list of the most active commenters on your site.
Available options:
- Title: Widget title.
- Time Period: Show top commenters for a specific timeframe.
- Number of Commenters: How many top commenters to display.
Subscription
A widget for displaying a newsletter or subscription form.
The only available setting is the widget title. The form itself is configured separately. For setup instructions, see this guide.
Social Links
This widget displays social media buttons linking to your profiles. You can configure these links in Appearance > Customize > Modules > Social Profiles.
