WordPress is continually evolving. As Gutenberg marches toward full site editing, it’s inevitable that some things will change and get left behind…like our Custom Sidebars plugin.
Whether you love Gutenberg or don’t, the fact is that WordPress is heading toward a “full site editing” user experience built entirely out of using blocks.
As has been covered extensively since WordPress introduced Gutenberg in version 5.0, blocks are an entirely new paradigm.
Whereas, until now, things like themes, plugins, and the old Classic Editor have played distinct roles in how design, functionality, and content come together to create a WordPress site, full site editing (FSE) means that users will soon be able to use blocks to transform any and every aspect of their site, including the header, footer, and sidebar.
Although things are not entirely clear yet, full site editing will no doubt affect many traditional aspects of WordPress, from plugins and themes to elements like menus and widgets, page builders, etc.
Which brings us to the point of this short post…
We Retired Custom Sidebars After WordPress 5.6
WordPress introduced a new block-based Widgets Screen in Gutenberg 9.1 as one of its major focuses for the release of WordPress 5.6 in December 2020.
As much as our entire development team is fully committed to supporting all of our plugins, the new Widgets Screen is not compatible with our Custom Sidebars plugin, so we made the decision to retire it back when WP 5.6 dropped.
Now the Good News…
Fear not though! For you can still use the Custom Sidebars plugin. It has a new owner: Webfactory Ltd.
Therefore, the plugin is still available for use, just not by us. As of now, it’s updated, receiving great reviews, and is as fresh as ever.
“If I Keep Using the Plugin, Will It Break My Website?”
If you choose to keep using the plugin on a theme that uses widgets, it should continue to work. As mentioned, it has a new home. As long as it’s maintained, you should be fine.
With over 200,000+ active installations, we know that many Custom Sidebars users will be happy to hear that it has new ownership.
We’ll miss it, but we’ll be sure to stop by from time to time to catch up on old times.
