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| Book: 'Developing Web Widget' Click image for details. |
'Widget' Defined.Hello, Everyone! Many people ask, "What is a widget?" Well, in the field of computing a widget is a stand-alone application/app that can be embedded into third party sites by any user, on a page where they have rights of authorship such as a webpage, blog, or profile on a social media site. In other words, a web widget is a small software application that can be installed by an end user. After it is installed/embedded it executes/performs within the web page. Other terms used to describe web widgets include: portlet, gadget, badge, module, webjit, capsule, snippet, mini and flake. Widgets are typically created in DHTML, JavaScript, or Adobe Flash.
Widgets often take the form of on-screen tools such as news feeds, tv episode players, music players, video players, clocks, event countdowns, auction-tickers, stock market tickers, data calculators, flight arrival information, daily weather and so on. Widgets come in many colors, shapes, sizes, and two major types. The two major types of widgets are Web widgets and Desktop widgets. Web widgets are intended for use on (embedding in) webpages and have major implications in areas such as site performance, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and backlink campaigns. Desktop widgets are embedded on computers, and do not impact SEO, nor webpage performance. For example, Widgetbox generates Web widgets that can be used on almost any website. However, Apple Desktop widgets can only be added to the desktop of your own (Apple) computer.
Some widgets are designed to allow users
to turn personal content into dynamic web apps. These dynamic widgets can be shared on online sites that permit the widget's code to be embedded. For example, a 'travel weather widget' such as the When to Go - Travel Weather & Season Predictor widget enables users to predict average weather conditions for their chosen travel destination, wherever it may be, by accessing data from a weather service, in this example, via Tripbase. If you want to put a widget on your own blog, you could do so by copying and pasting the embed code into your blog's widget section. It's that simple and easy!
To continue or get started with your search for widgets, you can go to the 'Widget Categories' section of this blog to find a variety of widgets for your sites.
| Creating Content: Maximizing Wikis, Widgets, Blogs, and More |
