Using a custom sidebar will enable you to try out a different look for your site. It can also provide you with an interesting way to implement new features, such as adding custom elements or advertisements for individual pages and displaying your most popular posts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
Furthermore, you get access to more space than a regular top-bound navigation bar can provide. In this article, we’ll discuss \u23e9 why you should consider using a custom WordPress sidebar<\/a>, and teach you \u23e9 how to set one up<\/a> using the free Custom Sidebars plugin. Let’s get started! Trying out a new WordPress navigation structure should be about more than just style \u2013 it should also be about functionality. After all, the primary purpose of a navigation tool is to make your users’ lives easier.<\/p>\n The Neve theme<\/a> pre-built starter site “My Shop” features a clean and practical sidebar.<\/p><\/div>\n A plain old navigation bar at the top of your website will work in many cases, but a custom sidebar can sometimes be the better choice. There are several reasons for this, including:<\/p>\n That said, not every <\/em>website needs to eschew convention and opt for a sidebar. In some cases, your design may lend itself better to a traditional navigation menu. However, custom sidebars can still come in quite handy if you need to add extra functionality to your site. For an example, take another look at the above image, which shows a theme that uses a sidebar to add a search widget, a filter by price <\/em>function, and product categories.<\/p>\n If you feel there’s a particular page on your site that needs extra features, but you’re not sure where to include them, adding those features with a custom sidebar can be the smart choice. On the other hand, if you use a single traditional sidebar throughout all your pages, and you can’t think of any new features to add that would increase your site’s usability, you might want to stick with a traditional menu.<\/p>\n As for where <\/em>to locate your sidebar, it’s mostly a matter of personal taste. Some designers lean towards placing them on the left<\/a> side of the page if they include elements that can help with navigation. For more traditional sidebars, you’ll probably want to stick to placing them on the right, since that’s what users tend to expect.<\/p>\n With that out of the way, let’s focus on learning how to add a custom WordPress sidebar to your site. For this tutorial, we’ll be using the Custom Sidebars plugin. This simple tool enables you to replace your core WordPress sidebar with more customizable options. With it, you’ll be able to create multiple new sidebars and assign them to specific pages, posts types, and categories (among other options).<\/p>\n
\nWhy you should consider using a custom WordPress sidebar \ud83d\udca1<\/h2>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Neve-Theme-Starter-Site-My-Shop-Sidebar-Example.webp\")
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Custom sidebars can enhance existing navigation, too<\/h3>\n
\nHow to create a custom WordPress sidebar (in 2 steps)<\/h2>\n
![\"Custom](\"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/custom-sidebars\/assets\/banner-772x250.png?rev=1414065\")
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