- Image by Jenni Lloyd via Flickr
If you have been surfing around the Internet, then you have probably come across the term “widget.” Bloggers refer to posting widgets and website designers and developers talk about the hundreds of thousands of widgets that are available for them to add to websites. Even with this overuse of the word “widget,” many regular people do not know what a widget is. Here is a look at what a web widget or widget is and what uses the world wide web has for them.
A web widget is the term that is applied to any program that can be placed on a website to perform a specific function. These functions and purposes can range from advertising, a small video game, a graphic or an interactive poll. There are millions of widgets available for use on blogs, websites, personal pages and business pages.
The best part about widgets is that they require very little computer programming knowledge. All a blog owner or website designer has to do is find the widget they wish to use on the Internet. Each widget comes with a pre-made code that can easily be inserted into the coding of a website or blog. The toughest part about installing a widget is knowing where in the website or blog code to put it. A lot of times it is done through trial and error. If you put the code in and it appears in an odd spot, just move it to another location. Once the desired location has been chosen, you will be able to view the widget live on the website.
Another great part about widgets is that, depending upon the type of widgets, they can be customized so that they performs the exact function or purpose that the website owner or blogger wants them to. Customizations can range from changing the color of the widget to changing what text is shown to what games or ads are offered through the installed widget.
