Simple Page Sidebars
Easily assign custom, widget-enabled sidebars to any page.
Use with caution
Simple Page Sidebars works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 20K+ sites, is rated 4.9/5 and was last updated 2 years ago, and scores 50/100 on our health check.
- Proven at scale on 20K+ active sites
- Loved by users — 4.9/5 from 54 reviews
- No update in over a year
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.7 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Simple Page Sidebars stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| custom sidebars | #21 |
| sidebars | #11 |
| widgets | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 from 54 reviews
About Simple Page Sidebars
From the official readme · v1.2.1Description
Designed for simplicity and flexibility, Simple Page Sidebars gives WordPress users, designers, and developers the ability to assign custom sidebars to individual pages–without making any template changes. Existing sidebars can also be assigned in quick edit and bulk edit modes, helping save you time.
In contrast to some of the more complicated plugins available, Simple Page Sidebars aims for basic, core-like functionality and integration that’s easy to use without polluting your admin panel. And due to the way sidebars are saved, it utilizes built-in WordPress caching, so your site won’t be bogged down with additional queries.
Simple Page Sidebars also ships with a “Widget Area” widget for pulling all the widgets from one sidebar into another.
Benefits
- No more site-wide, generic sidebars. Each page (or section) can have its own widgets.
- Complete control over the names of your custom sidebars.
- Assign the same sidebar to multiple pages.
- Modify a page’s sidebar without creating an unnecessary revision.
Advanced Usage
If you want to assign custom sidebars to archive pages or replace multiple sidebars per page, this plugin likely won’t be the best solution. However it’s flexible enough to handle a wide range of page-based use cases. It can even be configured to work with Custom Post Types by adding a couple lines of code:
function myprefix_init() {
add_post_type_support( '{{post_type}}', 'simple-page-sidebars' );
}
add_action( 'init', 'myprefix_init' );
Additional Resources
Notes
Custom Loops
If your page has any custom loops or queries, they need to be followed by wp_reset_query(), otherwise the global $post variable will no longer reference the correct post and by the time the sidebar is displayed, Simple Page Sidebars won’t know which page is being viewed, possibly leading to an unexpected sidebar being displayed.
Theme Sidebars
Some themes register different sidebars for their page templates, which means there isn’t a default sidebar that can be replaced. To use Simple Page Sidebars in this instance, you can create a child theme and force page templates with custom sidebars to use the default sidebar.
Installation
Installing Simple Page Sidebars is just like installing most other plugins. Check out the codex if you have any questions.
Setup
After installation, go to the Reading options panel (the Reading link under Settings) and choose which of your registered sidebars is the default sidebar.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the default sidebar still showing after I’ve created a custom sidebar for a page?
If you haven’t added any widgets to your new custom sidebar, the default sidebar will continue to display. If you really want a blank sidebar, try adding an empty text widget.
How do I give my blog a different sidebar?
We recommend that you set your blog to use the default sidebar and create custom sidebars for pages (including the front/homepage). That way your blog page and posts all have the same sidebar. However, if you defined a page for your posts in the Reading settings panel and assigned a custom sidebar to that page, that will work, too.
Can I hide the “Sidebar” column on the Pages screen in the admin panel?
Yes, just click the “Screen Options” tab in the upper right corner of your screen and uncheck the “Sidebar” option.
Changelog
1.2.1 – July 27, 2018
- Removed bundled language files in favor of WordPress.org language packs.
1.2.0
- Transferred to Cedaro.
- Updated the Widget Area class constructor to prevent deprecation notices in WP 4.3+.
1.1.8
- Added Spanish translation.
1.1.7
- Added Indonesian translation.
1.1.6
- Prevent quick edit nonces from being submitted when searching or filtering a post list table.
1.1.5
- Added Serbo-Croatian translation.
1.1.4
- Really fix the Quick Edit functionality.
- Update text domain loading order to get ready for language packs.
- Fix a strict PHP notice.
1.1.3
- Fixed Quick Edit functionality in WordPress 3.6.
1.1.2
- Changed the parent file of the “Edit Sidebar” screen to remove the small gap between submenu items.
1.1.1
- Worked around the slashing weirdness in WordPress API.
- Implemented a method to allow developers to easily add support for additional post types. No plans to build this out further, it’s just here for additional flexibility if more complex solutions aren’t wanted.
- Added a filter to disable the edit link in the custom Sidebar column (
simple_page_sidebars_show_edit_link_in_column).
1.1
- Added an Edit Sidebar screen for updating a sidebar name and associated pages.
- Added an update message when a sidebar is saved on the Add/Edit Page screen.
- Made the sidebar column sortable on the All Pages screen.
- Refactored the codebase (formatting, improved comments, static classes, organization, etc).
- Added better feedback throughout the dashboard when something goes wrong.
- Saved spinner image to plugin folder due to updates coming in 3.5.
- Removed deprecated filters.
1.0.1
- Fixed bug causing issues with other plugins that don’t submit the sidebar nonce on the All Pages screen.
1.0
- Modified check for blog page.
0.2.1
- Now works for the blog page when it’s set in the Reading Settings.
- Bug fixes.
0.2
- Added an option to define the default sidebar on the Reading options panel.
- Removed the template change requirement. It’s no longer recommended.
- Refactored code, including function/hook names.
- Deprecated
simple_sidebarfunction. Replaced bysimple_page_sidebar. - Deprecated
simpsid_widget_areasfilter. Replaced bysimple_page_sidebars_widget_areas. - Deprecated
simpsid_widget_area_defaultsfilter. Replaced bysimple_page_sidebars_widget_area_defaults. - Deprecated
simpsid_sidebar_namefilter. Replaced withsimple_page_sidebars_last_call.
0.1
- Initial release.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Simple Page Sidebars alternatives
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FAQ
Simple Page Sidebars: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 26, 2026
Is Simple Page Sidebars free?
Yes. Simple Page Sidebars is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Simple Page Sidebars safe to use in 2026?
Simple Page Sidebars works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 20K+ sites, is rated 4.9/5 and was last updated 2 years ago, and scores 50/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Simple Page Sidebars?
Simple Page Sidebars is active on 20K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 460,942 times since it launched in November 2011. It was downloaded 683 times in the last 30 days.
Does Simple Page Sidebars work with WordPress 7.1?
Simple Page Sidebars is officially tested up to WordPress 6.7.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Simple Page Sidebars last updated?
The latest version, 1.2.1, was released on February 23, 2025 (2 years ago).
Who makes Simple Page Sidebars?
Simple Page Sidebars is developed and maintained by Cedaro.
What are the best alternatives to Simple Page Sidebars?
The most popular alternatives to Simple Page Sidebars are Content Aware Sidebars (30K+ installs), Ocean Custom Sidebar (20K+ installs) and Stag Custom Sidebars (2K+ installs).
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