MRW Web Design

Feature a Page Widget Plugin for WordPress

Feature a Page Widget Layouts

Feature A Page Widget aims to provide a “just works” solution for showcasing a Page in any sidebar. It features:

  • Core WordPress features. Nothing crazy.
  • A simple set of options with a thought-through UI.
  • Three widget layouts.
  • Filters and templating for powerful customizations.
  • i18n ready.

For those more technically adept, there are three filters and a template to customize the output of the widget.

Download the Plugin on WordPress.org

Screenshots

How to Use the Widget

This plugin enables Featured Images (technically, Post Thumbnails) and Excerpts for Pages in WordPress. If you don’t see one or both of those fields, they may be hidden in the “Screen Options” (look in top-right corner) for Pages.

  1. Edit the page you will feature.
  2. Fill out the excerpt and select a featured image on that page.
  3. Go to Appearance > Widgets.
  4. Add an instance of the “Feature a Page Widget” to the sidebar that will feature the page.
  5. Select the page you just edited. Choose a layout to use and give the Widget a title if you want.
  6. Save the widget. Admire your handiwork.

A much longer FAQ is available in the plugin’s readme file.


14 thoughts on “Feature a Page Widget Plugin for WordPress”

  1. OK this is actually a really useful plugin! Thanks a lot for your contributions to the WordPress community :)

    1. @vandanam108. Feel free to vote in the poll on this page to register your desires! It’s one of the more-requested features, so getting your thoughts into the poll helps me know what features to add in the future.

      In the mean time, see the plugin’s FAQ for a function you can use to get a read more link. (It happens to be broken in the current version of the plugin, but it will be fixed in the next day or two.)

      1. Hi Mark,

        It would be nice if you could include it in the widget. I hv polled for it. Since i am not so technically sound to do what you say in the FAQ, i fear i cud mess it up.

        Once again thanks for the widget. It is really good.

    1. I’m glad you like the plugin @albarpas. Unfortunately, I can’t help you much with your question. Your site’s theme controls where you can place widgets and the display of a widget in a sidebar is highly-dependent on the theme’s CSS rules.

  2. It’s close to what I need … would like to discuss an idea with you about creating a similar plugin. Might be able to use this as a start. Please contact me at the email provided and I will explain further.

    Thanks,
    Kevin

    1. Hello and thanks for using the plugin. If you really want to share your love for it, give it a review on the Plugin Repository: http://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-reviews/feature-a-page-widget

      Regarding your question, that is an issue you’ll need to take up with the theme developer. It sounds like you want to add an additional Widget Area (aka Sidebar) to the home page so you can use this plugin. That will require modifying the theme which you should always try to do with a child theme.

    1. Glad you like the plugin! One great way to support the plugin is with a review.

      I’m happy to take a look at the problem you’re seeing (early in the new year). Please start a new thread in the Support Forum and include how you’re adding the “share this” buttons (plugin, custom code, etc.).

  3. Hi, i think this plugin is very useful, it’s the best i’ve tried. I do have one question. I select my featured image on the page i want to be featured, and it does show nicely on thumbnail however when i click on the link, it takes me to the full page, but it shows the featured image in a HUGE size most of the times it looks distorted and blury. Is there a way that I can only show the featured image as thumbnail only, but not show on the actual page at all? Thanks

    1. Glad you like the plugin, @napoloso! It sounds from what you describe that this is an issue with how your theme displays featured images. The blurriness in particular sounds like the theme may even be expanding the images beyond their uploaded size which certainly isn’t great.

      Since this is a theme issue, there’s not much I can do. See if you can add some CSS to hide the image in those instances, or use a child theme to remove the featured image from displaying where you don’t want it.

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