WPLift is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
8 Best WordPress Plugins to Build a Sticky Floating Sidebar in 2024
Imagine a site visitor landing on your site and trying to browse through your content. That person trying to navigate your site might get lost with the number of blogs, articles, and information that is flashed through the screen.
This can be a bit overwhelming and that person might stop looking around and move to another site as they cannot find the information they are looking for. To prevent that from happening, make use of the sidebars. With the help of sidebars, it helps improve your site navigation.
Sidebars are also known to be one of the easiest and convenient ways to display your content and other things you have to offer. If you are looking for one, we have here some recommendations to help you find the right sidebar plugin for your WordPress site.
Monarch
From the creators of Divi Theme, Elegant Themes comes off with a social media network sharing plugin. If you are finding a sleek and modern design to display your social media accounts on a sidebar, then Monarch serves these features right. When it comes to social sharing, Monarch supports over 35 social networks and with this amount, you can choose social media platforms you use and put them on your website.
One thing that caught my attention is the floating sidebar feature which makes the display more effective. It also has a clean and customizable design to help you create a dynamic sidebar for your website. You can configure the sidebar share icons and all of your display settings. There’s so much to do with this plugin.
Pros
- Monarch is optimized even on mobile devices so you can cater all of your site visitors whatever device they are using
- Easily import and export your sidebar data from one WordPress to another.
- Outstanding support as they can assist you 24/7
- Lots of customization features to create a beautiful and stylish social media sidebar plugin.
Cons
- Monarch only offers limited display locations on your site. This con might be a bit frustrating if you want it to incorporate your site style and preference.
- If you want to display the same social media sidebar in one place, unfortunately, you are not allowed to do so as the plugin is a little bit restrictive on that part.
Price
- Yearly Access – $70 per year. It includes access to other Elegant themes plugins including Monarch, with hundreds of website packs, product updates, premium support, and unlimited website usage.
- Lifetime Access – $199 one time payment. It includes Elegant themes plugins including Monarch, with hundreds of website packs, lifetime updates, lifetime premium support, and unlimited website usage.
Both of these pricing plans have a risk-free guarantee which offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all of your purchases.
WPForms
WPForms is one of the easiest and beginner-friendly options when it comes to creating forms. Although it is easy, it doesn’t mean that it cannot be powerful. With over 4,000,000 users, there is no doubt that this sidebar plugin is included on our list. If you are looking for another alternative for contact forms, you can use this one. You can also create newsletter forms, registration forms, surveys, and payment forms with over 100 templates to choose from.
Pros
- The pre-built templates are leveraged so you can create forms in the fastest and easiest way that suits everyone.
- Easily adaptable to your website needs as it customizes WordPress forms with the use of HTML block, custom CSS, and section dividers.
- WPForms is localization ready through the wpforms textdomain.
- Documentation is also available if you need some helpful articles to read on.
Cons
- If you want to use WPForms to other niches, you won’t be able to do so as this plugin is dedicated only for WordPress.
- The inability to upload multiple files in a single form all at once.
Price
- Basic – $39.50 per year. It includes essential tools to build your online form.
- Plus – $99.50 per year. This plan is great for businesses who want want to improve their site
- Pro – $199.50 per year. It includes everything that you need to build the form you always wanted
- Elite – $299.50 per year. It is a premier solution for every smart business owner.
This sidebar plugin comes with a 10% no-risk money-back guarantee which is good for 14 days upon purchase.
Ninja Forms
First on our list of top sidebar plugins is the Ninja Forms. With over 20 million downloads, it is known as one of the most popular and best sidebar plugins when you want to include a contact form on your website. From beginners up to experts, Ninja Forms is ideal for all kinds of WordPress users.
You can create all sorts of sidebar plugins, depending on your needs. From Common Fields, up to the user information needs and special needs. You can create as many as you want. Select the best one that fits your preferences. It also uses beautiful and user-friendly WordPress forms so you don’t need to be a web developer or expert to create complex forms like a pro. With its drag and drop feature, you can easily have row and column layouts.
There are some plugins that are not responsive to mobile devices and may cause problems to site visitors when it comes to navigation. However, Ninja Forms is built with great accessibility so when you come across other devices, this sidebar plugin works perfectly. Thanks to its mobile responsiveness. No doubt this sidebar plugin is included on our list.
Pros
- Support team is reliable and remarkable
- Ninja Forms is integrated with the service providers that cater your business or organization needs.
- If you only look for a specific feature of a sidebar plugin, Ninja Forms allows you to select the ones that you only need. This advantage is ideal for WordPress users who are starting their WordPress journey.
Cons
- The individual add ons may be a good strategy but it becomes pricey in the long run especially if your site grows.
- The add ons are a bit pricey.
Price
- A la carte – starts from $29 up to $129 per year good for 1 to 20 sites. It also includes priority support. If you only need a specific feature from this sidebar, you have the option to do so.
- Personal – costs at $49.50 per year, good for 1 site, with priority support. It also includes form building essentials, email marketing and accept payments features. On top of that, you can also have 20% off any future add on purchase.
- Professional – costs at $99.50 per year, good for 20 sites which includes everything on the Personal plan plus, features like empower clients and users, you can also integrate anywhere and accept payments with other payment options. On top of that, you can also have 40% off on any future add on purchase.
- Agency – costs at. $249.50 per year which is good for unlimited sites with all Ninja Forms add-ons, current and feature. On top of that, you can 100% off on any future add-on Ninja Forms release.
WordPress Popular Posts
Are you looking for a sidebar plugin that allows you to display your popular posts from your site? Then, WordPress Popular Posts might be the one you’re looking for. You can list posts on your blog that become popular in a specific time range. You can have it for the last 24 hours or the last seven days, or even the last 30 days.
That option allows you to create those different time ranges for your different active sidebars. Depending on your target, you can display the best written or well-informative posts from your site which allows site visitors easier navigation. You can also set thumbnails of your popular posts to add an impression and get your site visitor’s attention. No doubt that this sidebar plugin for WordPress is included on our lists
Pros
- This sidebar is an open source software so it allows you to tweak from your front-end up to the back-end of your website.
- Easily embedded your popular posts on your site. Place it whenever you want.
- WordPress Popular Posts has advanced caching features that allows your site to perform well which results in a great loading time.
Cons
- As WordPress Popular Posts upgraded to its new version, it adds up one row per view on the summary table which creates an increase on the database
Price
- You can get and use this sidebar plugin for free. This sidebar is ideal for WordPress users who are starting out their exploration about plugins.
Maps Widget for Google Maps
Are you establishing a business on your WordPress site? Then, include a map sidebar plugin to help you start with. By using Maps Widget for Google Maps, it pins and displays accurate locations for your business which helps your visitors locate you. Maps Widget has over 1,500+ map pins that are readily available.
You can also change your Google Map’s width and height and simply copy the shortcode and paste it to your desired page or post. Make use of the Google Map’s customization settings to create an appealing and attractive sidebar that is best for your business needs.
Pros
- Maps Widget is optimized for speed as it limits the resources used by your server and reduces API calls
- This sidebar provides a responsive design that is perfect whatever devices you are using
- One of the easiest and map widget with its simple interface, widgets, and uses Gutenberg modules.
Cons
- If you are looking for more advanced options, unfortunately, you need to upgrade on Maps Widget Pro plans
Price
- Free or you can simply upgrade to the pro version here
- PRO Personal – $29 per year good for 1 site
- PRO Personal Lifetime – $39 one time purchase, good for 1 personal site
- PRO Unlimited Agency – $79 one time purchase good for unlimited sites
Get Maps Widget for Google Maps
Opinion Stage
Are you starting out a new eCommerce on WordPress and do you want to increase your engagements? Engagements from site visitors can be increased by using the right tool, and by saying the right tool, I say the Opinion Stage sidebar plugin.
This sidebar allows you to create polls, quizzes, surveys, tests, online, and even form maker. It helps you boost your sales by making a personalized wizard depending on the product or service you offer. It makes the process of selling easier. Create a sidebar that fits your website needs and preferences. You don’t need to be a total expert as you can create the sidebar wizards seamlessly. No need to stress yourself out as Opinion Stage offers a number of templates to choose from.
Pros
- The quizzes are easily shared on other social media platforms. Get site visitors and convert them into your own clients.
- You get notified on every submission made thru email which includes the answers itself, the user information, and the time and date of submission.
- Opinion Stage has a call to actions buttons where you can use them to your product landing pages, or products related to the user. You have the option to customize it to match your website’s preferences.
Cons
- If you want an extensive feature, the basic plan may not work out for you.
- Ads are included on the basic plan so if you hate ads, you cannot do something about it unless you upgrade to their other plans.
Price
- Basic – $0 per month pay annually. It includes all of the basic features
- Starter – $19 per month pay annually. It includes advanced features which is great for new businesses and entrepreneurs
- Small Business – $65 per month pay annually. It includes all features and is great for consultants and small businesses.
- Performance – $199 per month pay annually. It includes all features, integrations, and customizations which is great for growing businesses or brands.
Each of the following pricing plans after the Basic plan has a free trial or seven days where you can try the sidebar plugin first before purchasing it.
Widget Options
Are you looking for widget management for WordPress? Then, Widget Options is the one you are looking for. This is a great solution to take control of the widgets on your website. It easily hides the widgets from specific pages, archives, or even 404 and searches by simply clicking on the checkbox. The counterpart feature of this is the ability to show widgets from specific devices.
You can also create custom widget styling and animations to draw more attention to specific and essential widgets. This is a perfect sidebar plugin you can use to optimize your site even better.
Pros
- This sidebar plugin is integrated by Elementor, Beaver Page, and Site Origin so if you are using one of those page builders, this is a great option for you.
- The Live Widget Search is good for filtering widgets so you can easily find where is a specific widget is rather than scrolling the whole page
- You can display special events, open hours, or limited sales by using the Widget Options date range visibility. Simply select a starting date to make this widget on your site and set the end date to make the widget automatically disappear.
Cons
- When it comes to pagination, Widget Options failed on that part as there is a possibility of plugin or theme conflict.
- The support is quite unreliable.
Price
- Personal – costs at $19 per year. This pricing plan is good for 1 site with no multisite usage, and 1 year of supports and updates
- Business – costs at $49 per year. This pricing plan is the most popular and good for 5 sites with no multisite usage, and 1 year of updates and supports
- Developer – costs at $149 per year which is good for unlimited sites with multisite usage, and 1 year of supports and updates
The following pricing options offer a 100% no-risk and money-back guarantee good for 30 days within the purchase.
Compact Archives
The WordPress default archive system may get messy as it takes up a lot on your database especially if you have published a good amount of blog posts and articles in the long run.
However, archives are handy and serve as another method to encourage readers to visit and read older content from your site. The most common type of archive sidebars is the one that displays a list of all the older contents. If you want to elevate how our archive sidebars appear on your site, you need the Compact Archives plugin. Say goodbye to your old, and default archive sidebar to a newer and improved way to display your archives sidebar.
Pros
- Provides different format options to choose from to create condensed archive content.
- Runs seamlessly on the classic editor, Gutenberg Block Editor, and WordPress widgets.
Cons
- The plugin is set for this kind of feature only.
Price
- You can use this plugin for free.
What’s your favorite sidebar plugin for WordPress?
To achieve creating a dynamic and functional website, you must know what are the right tools and plugins to use with. With a huge catalog of plugins and widgets, it can be challenging to find the right one for you. Based on your different needs and preferences for your WordPress site, we have prepared the top 8 sidebars plugins for WordPress with different functions on each one.
Among the 8 sidebars introduced, what we like most about Ninja Forms is its flexibility. It has a variety of forms that you can use compared to other plugins that only offer a single feature. If you are looking for an all-in-one sidebar plugin, we recommend you to use Ninja Forms. Although it doesn’t come off for free but for starters, you can only avail the ones that you need. We hope that we help you find the solution and try one of these sidebar plugins for WordPress.
Cool, thanks. I bookmarked this for later. I’m hoping to find a decent free solution for email subscribers, but will come back to this after I tire of looking for a handout :)
I like all wordpress plugins but UberOptin is my most favorite plugin all of them. integrate whmcs
I will use it OPTINMONSTER. Thanks for posting this useful information. This was just what I was on looking for. I’ll come back to this blog for sure! I bookmarked this blog a while ago because of the useful content and I am never being disappointed.
Hey Joe,
thanks for your quick and informative post. I heard nothing but positive about OptinMonster. However, I’d like to start with a free plugin. Could you recommend one?
Cheers
Jonas