We have added another custom widget for displaying related posts in widget areas called TV7 related articles widget. The idea is to provide additional and relevant content for our readers so that they might find something interesting and could stay little longer on our site.
The widget has several configuration options to allow easy customization and further options could be added if there’s need. Let’s take a look at them, and start with layout style options.
Layout styles
At the moment, widget offers following 4 basic layouts:
- Image list which is basic vertical layout having post images on the top of each item. It’s best suited to be used in the sidebar widget area. Example can be seen in this page’s sidebar below the donation widget.
- Compact layout is option that displays post image on the left and post title (and possible other content) on the right side. This layout could work in any widget areas as it’s scaling quite well for different widths. In this page, it’s placed in article footer widget area that is shown below this article.
- Columns layout is option that displays several posts in one row. Basically it’s just the image list layout adjusted to be used in columns instead of one single vertical column. Therefore it’s meant to be used in article footer or other widget areas that have enough width to accommodate the columns. Example can be seen below this article.
- Textual style is the final option which is can be used when post images are not considered necessary. It displays article titles and then possible other information depending on settings in a simple list like layout. Font sizes are smaller here making it the most compact option for use in sidebars as demonstrated in this page.
Display options
The widget offers two options to control which content and information are shown.
- Show post category. When checked, post category link is shown near the bottom of each item.
- Show post excerpt. When checked, article excerpt is shown below the post title. Please note that unless excerpt is written by hand, it’s just an extract from the beginning of the article.
- There’s also option to control the amount of words of the excerpt since different layouts might work better with different amounts.
Related articles options
Related articles can be selected based on following conditions:
- Show articles from the same category (categories as post may be in more than one category).
- Show articles having same tag.
- Include articles having either same tag or from the same category (option “Both” in the widget settings).
Ordering options
Related articles can be ordered in ascending or descending order using the following options:
- Date
- Title
- Random
Of which post date and random order sounds like the more useful options in normal use cases.
Misc. options
Finally, widget has few other options:
- Number of articles to show controls how many articles may be shown at max.
- Widget title can be adjusted if the generic translated version do not sound good.
- The icon shown next to the title may be changed and can be selected from this Font awesome 4 set.
Widgets are controlled via the WordPress admin widgets page that can be accessed e.g. via admin panel -> Appearance -> widgets. This page shows the available widget areas and widgets. TV7 related articles widget could be added for example to the primary sidebar or articles footer widget area. If you know what you’re doing, feel free to try and add the new widget wherever you like. In other cases, please ping the developers who are happy to help.
