Add Widgets to Your Website – Complete Process Across Platforms

Your competitors’ websites may be converting better than yours because they include elements that build trust, create urgency, and guide users to take the target steps.

Redesigning your website afresh can be time- and resource-intensive, so it’s not the first option.

The best way to close the gap with your competitors or create an edge is to use widgets to enhance your website’s current features.

The right widgets will transform your website into a high-engagement platform where every web page functions like a landing page.

Types of Widgets You Can Add to a Website

There are multiple widgets you can add to a website to create or enhance its features and functionality. However, adding all these widgets to your website can exhaust its bandwidth and hurt performance, which is why you should prioritize the most essential ones.

Here are the best website widgets to add to your site:

1. Tooltips: You can add a tooltips widget to your website to guide user navigation and provide contextual information when visitors hover over features.
2. Announcement: Use an announcement widget to display important news or upcoming events on your homepage without disrupting your visitors’ browsing experience.
3. Email signup form: Add an email sign-up form to your web pages to collect customer contact information and grow your newsletter subscriptions.
4. Social proof: Use a social proof widget to showcase other visitors’ activity on your website, such as purchases and signups, to encourage potential leads to take a similar action.
5. Cancellation form: Adding a cancellation form widget lets you identify reasons why customers are disengaging from your product or service, so you can address them and reduce turnover.
6. Product updates: A product update widget lets you display new offerings or features to grab visitors’ attention quickly when they open your website.
7. FAQs: Display an FAQ widget in your web page footers to address common questions visitors have about your product and reduce support ticket volume.
8. Back-to-top button: Every website that requires scrolling should include a back-to-top button at the bottom-right or bottom-left of the page.
9. Cookie consent: Add a cookie consent widget to keep your website compliant with privacy laws, such as GDPR.
10. Feedback: A feedback widget lets you collect customer testimonials on your website, providing social proof for your products and brand.

How to Add a Widget to a Website: Step-by-Step

Widgets offer a convenient way to add new features and functionality to your website. Our widgets include a built-in embed code generator that lets you set up and customize your plugins without writing any code.

Here’s a simple guide on how to create website widgets using Webynize:

1. Sign up and unlock a 7-day free trial. You can then visit our pricing page at the end of the trial period and choose a plan that works for you.
2. Click the +Create Widget button to open our plugin library.
3. Open the dropdown menu and select the widget you want to create.
4. Input a custom name for the widget and click Next to open the editor panel.
5. Customize the widget to your preference by choosing the background color, font, and spacing.
6. Click Embed on Website and specify your web builder, such as HTML, Webflow, WordPress, or Squarespace.
7. Copy the embed code that appears on the pop-up.
8. Paste the embed code on your website to add the widget.

See how easy it is?

Create your first widget on Webynize today.

How to Add Widgets by Platform

This section provides step-by-step guides for adding widgets to all major web builders:

Add Widgets to WordPress

Follow these steps to add widgets to a WP site:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Create a new web page or open an existing one where you want to add the website widget.
3. Click the + icon to create a new block and select Custom HTML.
4. Paste the embed code you copied from Webynize.
5. Click Publish to save the changes and make the widget live on your website.

Add Widgets to Wix

Here’s a simple guide for adding widgets to your Wix site:

1. Log in to your Wix account.
2. In the left-side sidebar, click the + icon and select Add a new page or open an existing one.
3. Click the + icon on the new page and under the Add Elements menu, select Embed Code.
4. Click on Embed a Site and drag it to the page you have opened.
5. Click Change website address.
6. Paste the script you generated on Webynize and click Apply.
7. Click Publish.

Add Widgets to Squarespace

Here’s how to add Squarespace widgets to your site:

1. Log in to your Squarespace account. 

NB: You must have a business account to add widgets to your site.

2. Create a new page or open an existing one where you want to add the widgets.
3. Click the Edit button on the page you have opened and select to add a </> Code block.
4. Paste the embed code you generated using Webynize into the code block.
5. Click the Save button in the code block, then click it again on the web page to make the widget live on your Squarespace site.

Add Widgets to Shopify

Follow these steps to add new widgets to your Shopify store:

1. Log in to your Shopify dashboard.
2. Navigate to the left sidebar and click Online Store.
3. Select to edit an existing page or create a new one.
4. Click the <> Show HTML icon to specify the content you want to add.
5. Paste the JavaScript code you generated using Webynize.
6. Save the changes and click the View page button to see how the widget appears on your website.

Adding Widgets to HTML Sites

Here’s a simple guide for adding widgets to your HTML site:

1. Create a new HTML file or open an existing one where you want to add a widget.
2. Paste the embed code you generated using Webynize into the header, body, or footer, depending on where you want it to appear.
3. Save the HTML page.
4. Load the HTML file in a browser.

Free vs. Paid Website Widgets – What to Expect

Small businesses and new website owners often look for free widgets to keep their development costs manageable. However, this often comes with limited accessibility to premium features that move the needle for your website’s UX and conversion rate.

The table below provides a side-by-side comparison of free vs. paid widgets:

Free widgets only make sense when looking for hands-on experience with specific plugins. 

Otherwise, once you’ve decided to add them to your website, we recommend switching to paid widgets to unlock premium features.

Common Widget Embedding Issues and How to Fix Them

Most widget embedding problems trace back to these four issues with straightforward fixes:

• Blank or Defective Widget: This often points to an issue with the embed code you pasted on your website. Repeat the embedding process, ensuring you copy the script correctly. Additionally, check to confirm that you pasted the script into an HTML/code block.
• Distorted Display: Your widget appears distorted because it is unresponsive to different screen sizes. Switch to a widget provider that uses a mobile-first design and repeat the embedding process.
• Slow Website Speed: Adding multiple widgets to a web page often exhausts its bandwidth, hurting website performance. Only add essential widgets that add new functionality or significantly improve your website’s UX.
• Widget Displays but Doesn’t Function as Required: This often happens when you use a widget that is incompatible with your web builder. To avoid such issues, switch to Webynize, which offers widgets that support all major platforms, including Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, HTML, and Webflow.

Best Practices for Using Widgets Without Hurting Site Performance 

Adding multiple widgets can be counterproductive, slowing your website and harming its user experience. As such, you must balance between adding new features and boosting performance. 

Here are some practical tips to consider:

• Prioritize the Most Essential Widgets: Only use widgets that add specific features or functionality to your website or improve its UX. This helps you keep your web pages lightweight for fast load times.
• Responsiveness: Use mobile-friendly widgets that auto-adjust to different screen sizes, ensuring visitors have a consistent UX across devices.
• Compatibility: Ensure the widgets you pick are compatible with your website builder to avoid integration or performance issues.
• Provide Context: Add a tooltip widget alongside plugins like pricing tables and featured articles to give visitors additional information that helps with navigation and the overall website experience.
• Delayed Loading: Set the widgets to execute only after the main elements of the website load, or when visitors scroll to the widget section.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Let’s address common questions owners and developers ask about adding widgets to their websites:

Which Website Widgets Help Conversions the Most?

The best widgets for conversions include:

• Social proof widget to address visitors’ concerns and reassure them in making a decision to trust your brand and products
• Countdown timer to create urgency, encouraging visitors to make their conversion decision while on your website
• Pricing table widget to help potential customers compare available options and settle on their most preferred plan

Can Too Many Widgets Hurt Website Performance?

Yes. Adding too many widgets can hurt website performance by exhausting its bandwidth. As such, we recommend adding only the most essential widgets. 

Additionally, you should configure the widgets for “lazy loading,” so they only execute when visitors scroll to that section.

How Often Should I Review My Website Widgets?

There’s no timeline for reviewing your website widgets. 

However, the rule of thumb is to assess them every quarter to ensure you are using the latest version and that the widgets function as expected.

Conclusion

The widgets you integrate into your website should add new features or enhance existing ones to improve visitors’ UX. However, the main challenge is usually that you have to subscribe to multiple widget providers, which often increases your website maintenance costs.

Webynize sought to address this concern by providing a vast library of 20+ widgets. Our widgets use simple embed codes for easy setup and customization, even for website owners without advanced technical skills. Additionally, all our widgets use a mobile-first approach and adapt to different screen sizes, providing a consistent UX across devices.

Sign up for Webynize to add new features to your website with ease.