Creating a Blog Archive Widget with Calendar Style

In this blog post, we will walk through the process of creating a blog archive widget with a calendar style in WordPress. By following these steps, you'll be able to add an attractive and functional archive widget to your sidebar or footer that displays your blog posts in a calendar format.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the following:

1. A self-hosted WordPress website
2. Access to your site's functions.php file
3. Basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and PHP

Step 1: Install a Calendar Plugin

First, let's make things easier by installing a calendar plugin that will help us build the widget. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to "Plugins > Add New," search for "WP_PostCal" or any other calendar plugin of your choice, and click "Install Now." Once installed, activate it.

Step 2: Create a Custom Widget

Now, we'll create a custom widget by adding some PHP code to your functions.php file. Open the file in your preferred text editor or use an FTP client. Paste the following code at the end of the file:

function my_custom_widget() {
    register_sidebar( array(
        'id'            => 'my-calendar-widget',
        'name'          => 'My Calendar Widget',
        'description'   => 'Display a calendar widget showing blog posts.',
        'before_title'  => '<h2 id="%1$s" class="widget-title">%2$s</h2>',
        'after_title'   => '',
        'before_widget' => '',
        'after_widget'  => ''
    ) );
}
add_action( 'widgets_init', 'my_custom_widget' );

This code registers a new sidebar for our widget. Save the file and log in to your WordPress dashboard.

Step 3: Build the Widget

Go to "Appearance > Widgets," and you will see the new sidebar named "My Calendar Widget." Drag it to a available widget area like the sidebar or footer. Now, paste the following code inside the new widget:

<?php if ( !function_exists('dynamic_sidebar') || !dynamic_sidebar('my-calendar-widget') ) : ?>
<p>Please arrange your posts in a calendar view using the WP_PostCal plugin.</p>
<?php endif; ?>

<aside id="widget-calendar" class="widget widget_calendar">
    <?php if ( !function_exists('dynamic_sidebar') || !dynamic_sidebar('my-calendar-widget') ) : ?>
        <!-- Your fallback content here, if any -->
    <?php endif; ?>

    <div id="calendar"></div>
</aside>

Replace the <p>Please arrange your posts in a calendar view using the WP_PostCal plugin.</p> comment with the desired fallback content if needed. Save the widget and go back to the "Widgets" page. The new sidebar should now be populated with the calendar widget.

Step 4: Customize the Widget

Finally, let's customize the appearance of our widget using CSS. Add the following code snippet to your style.css file:

#widget-calendar { width: 300px; }
#widget-calendar #calendar { width: 100%; height: 450px; }

Adjust the width, height, and other properties as needed. You can also customize the calendar's colors by editing the plugin settings or adding custom CSS.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we learned how to create a blog archive widget with a calendar style in WordPress. By following these steps, you now have an attractive and functional archive widget that displays your blog posts in a calendar format. If you encounter any issues during the process, don't hesitate to ask for help in the comments section below. Happy coding!

Published February, 2016