Choose which cookies we can use. You can change this at any time from “Cookie settings” in the footer. See our cookie policy for details.

Essential

Needed for the site to work, such as remembering your cookie choices. These can’t be switched off.

Always on
Skip to content
Classic Widgets Free

Restore the classic widgets screen

Switch Appearance → Widgets back to the classic drag-and-drop screen that most themes and widget plugins were built for.

Free on WordPress.org, with nothing locked behind Pro.

in the free plugin
Free
Content Management modules
12
A photographer in her studio with WP Extended open on a desktop monitor

Why you need Classic Widgets

The block-based widgets editor changed how sidebars and footers are edited. Many themes and widget plugins still expect the classic screen.

What Classic Widgets does

  • Classic widgets screen Drag-and-drop widget areas in Appearance → Widgets and the Customizer.

Where Classic Widgets helps

  • An account manager walking a client through WP Extended on a laptop in a café

    Classic themes

    Keep sidebars and footers working the way the theme was designed.

WP Extended vs the Classic Widgets plugin

The Classic Widgets plugin has 2M+ active installs on WordPress.org. If you only need this one job, that’s a fine choice. If the site also needs other modules on this list, it’s one less plugin to update.

The difference
Classic Widgets does the same core job inside WP Extended, so it shares one settings screen, one update and one support team with every other module you use.
★★★★★
“Features I love the most: Disable Gutenberg Widgets, Duplicate Page and Posts, Limit Login Attempts, Post & Page Order, Maintenance Mode.”
Meet Mehta WordPress.org review (opens in a new tab)

Classic Widgets questions

Classic Widgets documentation

Yes. It is in the free plugin, with no settings to configure. Switch it on and the classic screen returns.

Yes, with the official plugin or one line of code. Our guide to restoring classic widgets compares the options.

Get Classic Widgets free

Classic Widgets is in the free plugin on WordPress.org, alongside 34 other free modules you can switch on when you need them.

Pro from $29 a year · 14-day money-back guarantee