the_widget() │ WP 2.8.0

Output an arbitrary widget as a template tag.

Hooks from the function

Return

null. Nothing (null).

Usage

the_widget( $widget, $instance, $args );
$widget(string) (required)
The widget's PHP class name (see class-wp-widget.php).
$instance(array)
The widget's instance settings.
Default: empty array
$args(array)

Array of arguments to configure the display of the widget.

Default: array()

  • before_widget(string)
    HTML content that will be prepended to the widget's HTML output.
    Default: <div class="widget %s">, where %s is the widget's class name

  • after_widget(string)
    HTML content that will be appended to the widget's HTML output.
    Default: </div>

  • before_title(string)
    HTML content that will be prepended to the widget's title when displayed.
    Default: <h2 class="widgettitle">

  • after_title(string)
    HTML content that will be appended to the widget's title when displayed.
    Default: </h2>

Examples

0

#1 Demo

Show widget with default settings:

<?php the_widget( 'WP_Widget_Categories' ); ?>

Show settings widget:

<?php the_widget( 'WP_Widget_Categories', 'dropdown=1&count=1' ); ?>

Show widget with custom parameters:

<?php 
$instance = array(
	'dropdown' => 1,
	'count'    => 1,
);

$args = array(
	'before_widget' => '<div id="%1$s" class="widget %2$s">',
	'after_widget' => '</div>',
	'before_title' => '<div class="widget-title">',
	'after_title' => '</div>'
);

the_widget( 'WP_Widget_Categories', $instance, $args );
?>

Notes

  • Global. WP_Widget_Factory. $wp_widget_factory

Changelog

Since 2.8.0 Introduced.

the_widget() code WP 6.6.2

wp-includes/widgets.php 
function the_widget( $widget, $instance = array(), $args = array() ) {
	global $wp_widget_factory;

	if ( ! isset( $wp_widget_factory->widgets[ $widget ] ) ) {
		_doing_it_wrong(
			__FUNCTION__,
			sprintf(
				/* translators: %s: register_widget() */
				__( 'Widgets need to be registered using %s, before they can be displayed.' ),
				'<code>register_widget()</code>'
			),
			'4.9.0'
		);
		return;
	}

	$widget_obj = $wp_widget_factory->widgets[ $widget ];
	if ( ! ( $widget_obj instanceof WP_Widget ) ) {
		return;
	}

	$default_args          = array(
		'before_widget' => '<div class="widget %s">',
		'after_widget'  => '</div>',
		'before_title'  => '<h2 class="widgettitle">',
		'after_title'   => '</h2>',
	);
	$args                  = wp_parse_args( $args, $default_args );
	$args['before_widget'] = sprintf( $args['before_widget'], $widget_obj->widget_options['classname'] );

	$instance = wp_parse_args( $instance );

	/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/class-wp-widget.php */
	$instance = apply_filters( 'widget_display_callback', $instance, $widget_obj, $args );

	if ( false === $instance ) {
		return;
	}

	/**
	 * Fires before rendering the requested widget.
	 *
	 * @since 3.0.0
	 *
	 * @param string $widget   The widget's class name.
	 * @param array  $instance The current widget instance's settings.
	 * @param array  $args     An array of the widget's sidebar arguments.
	 */
	do_action( 'the_widget', $widget, $instance, $args );

	$widget_obj->_set( -1 );
	$widget_obj->widget( $args, $instance );
}

Sidebar (widgets)

Widgets (sidebars)