If you are looking to make your WordPRess blog stand out from the pack then you need to consider using widgets that aren’t standard. WordPress comes packed with a ton of useful widgets, but there are many more out there you can add through the use of plugins. Add these widgets below to make your blog more fun and original!
1. About Me 3000: You can easily add an about widget using the standard text widget but this plugin adds an easily customizable about widget. The widget has all the styling included so it will always look good. You simply add your email and it will use your current Gravatar for the pic. It also offers you the ability to add your social networks which are displayed in a neat row of icons under your picture.
2. Most Popular Posts: There are widgets that will rank your posts on page views, but that can be exploited. This widget will rank your posts (any number you set) by comments. This is a great idea because then your posts are ranked by community interaction, which I think is more telling than simple page views. It can also encourage people to comment so they can get their favorite posts ranked.
3. Random Posts Widget: This widget will randomly show any number of posts you set. This is an interesting widget because it exposes your older posts to new visitors. A recent posts widget will show you the most recent posts, while your old ones are buried. This widget will make sure your old posts aren’t forgotten and that people who regularly come to your site won’t see the same old posts always showing up in the sidebar.
4. KB Countdown Widget: This widget will let you add a countdown to your sidebar. You can use this for products launches (My eBook price will be going up in….). You can also sue this for personal countdowns on more personal blogs (Our wedding is in…). If you want to add a countdown on your site, this is an easy and effective way.
These four widgets are a drop in the bucket. You can visit WordPress.org and find a huge list of widgets that you can search as well. If you want your WordPress site to be more user friendly and unique you should consider non standard widgets.
