Is it possible to re-register an unregistered WordPress sidebar?
As a WordPress developer, you may encounter situations where you need to re-register a sidebar that has been previously unregistered. This can happen when you're working with a child theme or a plugin that has modified the sidebar registration in the parent theme.
The issue is that simply using register_sidebar( 'sidebar' );
alone won't work. The ID of the sidebar must be explicitly stated. In the case of the Genesis framework, the ID used for the sidebar is 'sidebar'.
Here's the code to restore the sidebar in a Genesis child theme:
// Restore the sidebar
function APTS_register_sidebar() {
register_sidebar( array( 'name' => __( 'Sidebar', 'theme-slug' ), 'id' => 'sidebar' ) );
}
add_action( 'wp_loaded', 'APTS_register_sidebar' );
This code can be used to restore the left and right sidebars in the Atmosphere Child theme, and it can be adapted to work with other Genesis child themes and other sidebars as well.
Let's break down the code:
- The
APTS_register_sidebar()
function is defined, which registers a new sidebar with the ID 'sidebar' and the name 'Sidebar'.
- The
add_action( 'wp_loaded', 'APTS_register_sidebar' );
line adds the APTS_register_sidebar()
function to the wp_loaded
action hook. This ensures that the sidebar is registered after WordPress has fully loaded.
The 'id' => 'sidebar'
parameter is crucial here, as it explicitly specifies the ID of the sidebar you want to register. This is necessary because the Genesis framework uses the 'sidebar' ID for its default sidebar.
Now, let's take a look at the full code used to restore the left and right sidebars in the Atmosphere Child theme:
<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Atmosphere Pro Theme Sidebars
Plugin URI: https://my.studiopress.com/themes/atmosphere/
Version: 1.0
Author: Rose Fisher
Author URI: http://www.bespokehosting.space
Description: Enables left or right aligned sidebars in the StudioPress Genesis Atmosphere Pro theme on the blog archive and blog posts.
Text Domain: atmosphere-pro-theme-sidebars
License: GPLv3
Atmosphere Pro Theme Sidebars is free software: you can redistribute it
or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2 of the
License, or any later version.
Atmosphere Pro Theme Sidebars is distributed in the hope that it
will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with {Plugin Name}. If not, see {URI to Plugin License}.
*/
defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || die( 'No direct access' );
// Check and make sure the theme is set to Atmosphere Pro
$theme = wp_get_theme( 'atmosphere-pro' );
if ( $theme->exists() ) {
// Restore the sidebar
function APTS_register_sidebar() {
register_sidebar( array( 'name' => __( 'Sidebar', 'theme-slug' ), 'id' => 'sidebar' ) );
}
add_action( 'wp_loaded', 'APTS_register_sidebar' );
// Put the site layout picker back to the theme and post editors
function APTS_get_site_layouts_back() {
genesis_register_layout( 'content-sidebar', array(
'label' => __('Content/Sidebar', 'genesis'),
'img' => get_bloginfo('template_url') . '/lib/admin/images/layouts/cs.gif'
) );
genesis_register_layout( 'sidebar-content', array(
'label' => __('Sidebar/Content', 'genesis'),
'img' => get_bloginfo('template_url') . '/lib/admin/images/layouts/sc.gif'
) );
}
add_action( 'init', 'APTS_get_site_layouts_back' );
// Check if the sidebar is actually being used so we don't unneccessarily create sidebar space
if ( is_active_sidebar( 'sidebar' ) ) {
// Remove sidebar from homepage and single pages
function APTS_remove_sidebar_from_home() {
if ( is_front_page() || is_page() ) {
remove_action( 'genesis_after_content', 'genesis_get_sidebar' ); // Remove default Genesis sidebar
}
}
add_action( 'genesis_meta', 'APTS_remove_sidebar_from_home' );
// Add the CSS for the sidebar (pulled from Parallax Pro) only on the blog archive and posts
function APTS_add_sidebar_css() {
if ( is_single() || is_home() ) {
wp_enqueue_style( 'atmosphere-pro-sidebars', plugin_dir_url( __FILE__ ) .'css/sidebars.css', array('atmosphere-pro') );
}
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'APTS_add_sidebar_css' );
// Force Genesis full-width-content layout setting only on front page.
function APTS_full_width_frontpage() {
remove_filter( 'genesis_site_layout', '__genesis_return_full_width_content' ); //first remove the filter
if ( is_front_page() ) {
add_filter( 'genesis_site_layout', '__genesis_return_full_width_content' ); //then add it back only if it's the front page
}
}
add_action ( 'init', 'APTS_full_width_frontpage' );
}
}
This code not only restores the sidebar, but it also:
- Puts the site layout picker back to the theme and post editors.
- Checks if the sidebar is actually being used before creating sidebar space.
- Removes the sidebar from the homepage and single pages.
- Adds the necessary CSS for the sidebar (pulled from the Parallax Pro theme) only on the blog archive and posts.
- Forces the Genesis full-width-content layout setting only on the front page.
In summary, yes, it is possible to re-register an unregistered WordPress sidebar, but you need to explicitly state the ID of the sidebar you want to register. The code provided in this article demonstrates how to do this for the Genesis framework, and it can be adapted to work with other WordPress themes and sidebars as well.
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