Recommended Plugin: Genesis Widget Column Classes

Most designers and developers using the Genesis framework have familiarized themselves with the built-in column classes used for constructing layouts. By adding a couple CSS classes to HTML elements you can float content responsively across all devices. See the example below:

    Column 1


    Column 2


    Column 3

The Result

 

Excellent Plugin For Theme Development

Previously in theme development when embedding new widgets into a page I would add the column classes in the template files. Notice the instances of one-third in the code below.

genesis_widget_area( 'home-1', array(
	'before' => '
',
	'after' => '
',
) );
genesis_widget_area( 'home-2', array(
	'before' => '
',
	'after' => '
',
) );
genesis_widget_area( 'home-3', array(
	'before' => '
',
	'after' => '
',
) );

This solutions works, but offers little flexibility if the content changes and the amount of columns has to increase or decrease. Going from three columns to four columns? The CSS classes would have to be modified in the template files every time there’s an update in layout. Obviously not an ideal solution if clients want to update a site themselves.

Genesis Widget Column Classes adds a dropdown in the widgets section of the WordPress dashboard.

Now you only have to register one widget for each row in your layout instead of registering a separate widget for each column.

Props To Jory Hogeveen For This Awesome Plugin

Genesis Widget Column Classes is a simple plugin that can save time and add flexibility for both clients and developers. Download the plugin from the link below.