February 22, 2012

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Widgets?

linux on laptop 

Image by kenwood via Flickr

So, what exactly is a widget?

One hears the word everyday, especially with savvy computer geek friends that understand the computer world and all that goes with it. But if you are not on top of the latest in computer technology, and happen to also be a bit technically de-clined, then figuring out what a widget is takes a bit of research.

A widget is an application, for the computer, that is made of bits of code. This allows users to access simple functions that have can give information, such as a calendar, the weather or news, or allow the benefits of immediate access to games, social networks, or even YouTube.

The good news is that this widget, or “badge” as it is sometimes called, can easily be placed on your computer or website to allow easy use of information; it’s also free. Users can copy a widget to their blog or websites to use as they wish. Widgets also work on mobile phones allowing you access while on-the-go.

These tiny mini-apps are a great way to have easy and immediate information at your fingertips and to interface and connect with other sites and people on your own blog or website. Widget use on social networks, as well as blogs, personal websites, etc. can help drive others to your site and increase your readership.

Realize that each widget belongs to its maker; you cannot change the code for any widget. The good news is that if it is not what you want, you can simply get rid of it.

And that is what is known as “user friendly”.

Filed Under: Software, Updates Tagged With: , ,

What Are Widgets?

Tkinter demo: many widgets
Image via Wikipedia

Widgets are a convenient form of code re-use, and they make use of a range of programming languages from DHTML or flash (for web widgets) to Python for a desktop widget in Linux. They are bits of stand-alone software that do something extra and handy and are embedded after the fact into the existing code, typically in a web page or on a desktop. On a desktop they’re likely to do things like retrieve weather information for you from the web; on a web page, a widget could be anything from a game to an annoying advertisement.

Widgets can be very useful and very fun – but they have a downside as well. Like any code you install on your page, there’s always the chance that a widget could be malware, attempting to convince people to open their computers to adware or worse. Additionally, before installing widgets on your web page you should be aware that they can impact your site performance. They can also affect search engine optimization.

What widgets interest you will vary depending on what you’re trying to get done. Weather gathering and news feeds are a classic choice, especially for desktops. A lot of bloggers or small business sites will use a widget that tracks traffic to their page, one of the earliest forms of web widgets, enabling them to easily gather some demographic information. A Paypal widget enables sites to take donations; a Google translation widget can make the page more internationally accessible. Other people use widgets to connect their website to mainstream social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, or Google Buzz. Games are another very popular web widget, which makes sense since typically, web widgets are an attempt to engage site users to a higher degree. Another excellent choice for improving interactivity on some types of pages is a widget where site users can write reviews.

Filed Under: Software Tagged With: , ,

Using Widgets and Plug-Ins

Widgets and plug-ins are excellent items that can be used on websites, blogs and pages so that your site gets more exposure and draws more people to it. They can range and vary so much that it is hard to focus on just one but a good example is a pop up advertisement you may see on a site. Those are there with a widget. Let’s say you want to display your local weather on your site because you run a hotel or RV camp. The weather that is displayed on the site is done with a plug-in or widget. These are typically third party items that can be used by anyone with a little HTML know how and a website or blog.

One thing to consider in choosing a widget or plug-in is what you are trying to show to your readers or clients. You don’t want to overwhelm your readers with a ton of widgets showing random things but you do want to utilize them to your advantage. Think about what you are trying to share and use that to decide what type of widget to use. Another good example is if you had a clock store. You may want a widget on your site that displays the time in every country. If you have a movie website you might like to show your customers a plug-in that displays different movie trailers or even the times that the movie will be showing; automatically updating as the times change.

Regardless of what kind of site you own, you can benefit from having a widget or plug-in as long as it helps your customers stay on your site a little longer. A customer that stays longer has more opportunity to purchase your product or service and if they are enjoying themselves then they are more apt to return.

Filed Under: Applications, Software Tagged With: , ,