Buckets: The New Alternative to WordPress Widgets?

Widgets are so commonly used within WordPress that you probably have never questioned if there might be a different way to arrange content within dynamic areas of your site. Today we’re going to take a look at a new widget alternative called Buckets. Who knows, maybe you’ll like them enough to make the switch?

What are Buckets?

Developer Matthew Restorff created the Buckets plugin because he was tired of his widgets not migrating properly. Buckets are pieces of reusable content. This content can be placed in the middle of another content area or even inside another bucket.

When new buckets are created in the dashboard, they automatically each get their own shortcode for placing the content in another area of the site:

The developer highly recommends using Buckets in combination with the Advanced Custom Fields plugin in order to maximize its flexibility. This plugin allows you to create your own edit screens with custom field types, including Wysiwyg, text, textarea, image, file, select, checkbox, page link, post object, date picker, color picker, repeaters, flexible content, etc. With these two plugins working together, you can add new sidebar areas and create your own fully modular site.

Advantages of Using Buckets Instead of Widgets:

• Buckets make use of the standard HTML/Visual WordPress editor for creating content, making it easy to format text and add multimedia
• Content is reusable in any area of the site – post, pages, sidebars, etc.
• Content within buckets is very easy for non-technical clients to update

Please note that buckets do not actually replace widgets but rather give you another way to organize information that is likely to be updated frequently.

This is by no means a revolution against widgets. It’s simply another option if you find that you require more flexibility. I’ve always thought that widgets are one of the most appealing and user-friendly features of the WordPress platform. However, if you’ve gotten a little frustrated with widgets and want to try another way of arranging content within WordPress, give the Buckets plugin a try. Let us know what you think

Tags:

• widgets