Widgets away!

A widget – or "gadget" as Blogger calls 'em – is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page. An end user can install these without requiring additional compilation.

In other words, they're free mini-programs, which plug n' play on blogs, as well as websites, wikis and social networking sites. Classic examples include world clocks and weather reports. But widgets can stretch to baby-birth countdowns, Super Mario games and Amazon Affiliate referral boxes, all embedded on your site with a little cutting and pasting. Ace!

Browser-based tools for creating and hosting widgets include Microsoft Popfly, Widgetbox, and zembly. Widget-distribution platforms such as Clearspring and Gigya are now used to seed and distribute widgets as rich media advertisement units.

WordPress hosts more widgets than Blogger, thanks to its open-sourcy goodness. But we prefer Blogger for its free template-tinkering, so, as usual, our advice will revolve around that platform.

Blogger hosts a certain number of widgets on its servers. To add an element, go to Layout --> then click the blue text link "Add a Gadget" at the top of your sidebar(s). A popup box then displays a host of options, including polls, slideshows and RSS feeds, handy for streaming select headlines, adding fresh news content effortlessly.

To freestyle a bit more, you can add third-party programlets, like the class blog's recent comments widget. First, find reliable source code online. Vet it carefully by searching on its name. Then back up your Blogger template before you tinker.

From the Layout wireframe, click "Add a Gadget," then choose the HTML/JavaScript option. Click the blue plus-sign button, which leads to another popup window, containing fields for a title and content. Paste the embed code in the larger data field. Once you've saved, the element will appear on the layout page. You can then drag and drop it into an appropriate spot.

As we discussed earlier in the course, think carefully about what appears "above the fold." This newspaper term denotes the content visible on a front page when a broadsheet is doubled up. For a blog, that translates to "stuff visible without scrolling". The header and "about me/contributors" sections are obvious candidates: context helps readers – new ones especially – evaluate the site.