Extended Widget Options – WordPress Plugin Full Review

WordPress widgets are powerful. They help you display menus, banners, opt-in forms, featured posts, and more—especially in your site’s sidebar, footer, or custom widget areas. But by default, WordPress widgets are limited in flexibility. You can’t control who sees what, when they see it, or how it looks on different devices. That’s where Extended Widget Options plugin comes in.

This premium plugin takes the core widget system and elevates it into a highly dynamic, customizable, and responsive solution for modern WordPress sites. Whether you’re a blogger, business owner, developer, or agency, this plugin unlocks functionality that saves time, reduces plugin bloat, and delivers a cleaner, more tailored user experience.

In this in-depth review, we’ll explore what Extended Widget Options plugin does, how it works, its most valuable features, and why it’s a must-have for any WordPress-powered site looking to move beyond basic widget behavior.

What Is Extended Widget Options?

Extended Widget Options plugin is a WordPress plugin that allows you to manage widgets with granular control. It adds a new layer of advanced functionality to the native WordPress widget system, without requiring any coding knowledge.

This plugin is developed by Phpbits Creative Studio, and is trusted by over 100,000 WordPress users to customize widget behavior sitewide.

With Extended Widget Options, you can:

Show or hide widgets based on device, page type, taxonomy, or user role
Add custom alignment, styling, and animations to widgets
Enable or disable widgets on specific URLs
Control widget visibility by post type, author, category, or tag
Add custom logic, widget IDs, and custom classes for CSS targeting
Easily manage sidebars for complex WordPress themes

In essence, it brings conditional logic and smart design tools to WordPress widgets.

Why Do You Need More Widget Control?

The default WordPress widget interface is simple—but overly rigid.

Let’s say you want to:

Show a promotional banner only on product pages
Hide a newsletter signup for logged-in users
Display a support button only on mobile
Change widget alignment or spacing based on location

You can’t do any of that with the default WordPress tools. You’d have to install multiple plugins or write custom code.

Extended Widget Options plugin consolidates all of that into one clean interface.

Core Features of Extended Widget Options

Let’s take a detailed look at what this plugin brings to the table.

1. Device-Based Widget Visibility

This is one of the most requested features in widget management.

You can show or hide widgets based on device type, such as:

Desktop only
Tablet only
Mobile only
Any combination of the above

This is perfect for:

Hiding large widgets from mobile users
Displaying mobile-specific CTAs or app download links
Optimizing widget visibility for responsive design

2. Page-Level Display Logic

You can control where a widget appears by selecting:

All posts or pages
Only specific post types
Individual post/page IDs
Archives, categories, tags
Custom taxonomies
Author archives
WooCommerce product pages

This makes it easy to create contextual sidebars that adapt to your site content without needing a page builder.

Example:

Display a custom product filter only on your WooCommerce category pages
Show an “About the Author” widget only on blog posts
Hide opt-in forms on your contact or thank-you pages

3. User Role Visibility Control

Control who can see your widgets based on their user role:

Guest
Subscriber
Contributor
Author
Editor
Administrator

This is extremely useful for:

Membership sites
Subscriber-only content
Admin notices or dashboard widgets
Promoting upgrades to non-logged-in users

You can also combine this with page targeting for hyper-specific displays.

4. Widget Alignment and Styling Options

The plugin adds controls for:

Float alignment (left, right, center, none)
Custom margin and padding
Background colors
Widget title styling
Custom icons

You no longer need to rely on a theme’s rigid sidebar styles — you can apply fine-tuned CSS changes to individual widgets from the backend.

5. Custom Classes and Widget IDs

For developers and advanced users, you can assign:

Custom CSS classes to widgets
Unique widget IDs for tracking or targeting
JavaScript triggers or hooks

This gives you full control when building responsive layouts or tracking user behavior via analytics.

6. Custom Logic (Advanced Conditions)

If you want total conditional control, you can use PHP-like logic right inside the widget settings.

Example:

This shows the widget only on the About page OR for logged-in subscribers.

It’s a powerful alternative to bloated logic plugins or hand-coded conditionals in functions.php.

7. URL-Specific Widget Display

Want to show or hide a widget based on the full URL?

Just enter the path or keyword and the plugin takes care of the logic. This is useful for:

Targeting specific UTM parameters
Showing widgets for campaign landing pages
Displaying custom promotions on seasonal URLs

You can add multiple URLs or wildcards for flexible matching.

8. Widget Animations and Effects

Bring your widgets to life using:

Fade
Slide
Zoom
Bounce
Delays
Scroll triggers

These small touches help draw attention to key CTAs, opt-ins, or offers — especially on crowded sidebars.

9. Widget Import/Export & Backup

Save your widget settings as a backup or duplicate them across multiple sites.

Perfect for agencies, multisite networks, or developers working across multiple environments.

10. WooCommerce Widget Support

Extended Widget Options works beautifully with:

WooCommerce filters
Price sliders
Product category displays
Product widgets

You can build smart sidebars that adapt based on:

Product type
Price range
Tags or brands
Cart or checkout pages

Add upsell banners, support buttons, or policy info without touching your theme.

Real-World Use Cases

1. Bloggers

A food blogger shows:

Recipe category widgets only on category archive pages
Affiliate banners only to non-logged-in users
Custom “shop the recipe” sections for mobile visitors

2. WooCommerce Stores

An eCommerce store uses:

Special coupon widgets on sale pages
Shipping policy widget on checkout only
Loyalty program CTAs for returning customers (based on login role)

3. Agencies

A web design agency creates:

Sidebar CTAs that rotate by day of the week
Developer messages visible only to admin users
Different service listings by page type (design vs SEO)

4. Nonprofits or Membership Sites

A nonprofit site shows:

Donation buttons only to guests
Member resources based on login role
Special promotions for volunteers

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Easy to use (native WordPress UI)
Device, user, and page-level visibility control
Custom styling and animation per widget
Supports any widget or theme
Advanced logic and developer-friendly features
Works with page builders and custom sidebars
WooCommerce and multisite compatible
Import/export for faster workflows

Cons:

No visual editor (still uses WordPress widget interface)
Some features require the Pro version
Custom logic field needs care to avoid conflicts
Limited role-based control in the free version

Despite minor learning curves in advanced settings, the value delivered is excellent.

Free vs Pro Version

The free version (available in the WordPress plugin directory) offers:

Basic visibility controls
Device-based display
Page/post type logic
Basic styling options

The Pro version unlocks:

User role visibility
Custom logic
WooCommerce integration
Animations
Custom widget IDs
URL targeting
Import/export
Developer support and updates

Pricing starts at around $29/year for a single site, with multi-site and lifetime plans also available.

Getting Started

Install and activate the plugin (from WordPress or via .zip)
Navigate to Appearance > Widgets
Click any widget — you’ll now see a new panel called Widget Options
Set your visibility rules, add classes, set alignment or animation
Save your widget
Test across pages and devices

If you’re using block-based widget editors or Elementor sidebars, the plugin still works well with traditional widget areas, especially when combined with sidebar or layout plugins.

Final Verdict

Extended Widget Options plugin is a hidden gem for WordPress users who care about control, customization, and clean design. It brings features usually reserved for developers into a beginner-friendly interface — all while enhancing any theme or plugin that uses widgets.

Whether you’re trying to increase conversions, simplify your sidebar, tailor your site by user type, or deliver a more responsive design — this plugin saves time and elevates your site’s user experience.

It’s an essential tool for any WordPress site using widgets seriously. Click here to get Extended Widget Options plugin now!