How to Use the Jetpack Sidebar Image Widget

Before starting this tutorial, you need to install and activate the free Jetpack plugin. Read this post for instructions on how to install Jetpack.

Jetpack includes a simple widget that you can use to easily add images to any widget area available in your currently selected theme. You can enable add-ons and other features using the Jetpack settings page, available by clicking the apply option in the sidebar in the admin console. In this chapter, we will take a look at the process of activating an image widget and placing an image in the sidebar of your WordPress site.

How to activate the image widget

Activating and managing various Jetpack features can be done from the Jetpack settings page, which provides a user-friendly interface along with a list of features and an explanation of their functionality.

1. In your admin dashboard, click “Jetpack” near the top left corner of the page.
2. Scroll down the page and click “View all Jetpack features” to see a list of all available plugins and extensions.



3. Scroll down to find the “Add-on Sidebar Widgets” box. You will find it in the left column. Click the tile and click “Activate”.

How to add an image to the sidebar

You can add any image you like to the sidebar using the Jetpack Images widget, as long as the image is in JPG or PNG format. The image doesn’t even need to be hosted on your site – you can specify any image to be on any web page, as all you need is the URL.

1. In your admin console, hover over the “Appearance” button and click “Utilities” in the pop-up menu.
2. Drag and drop the “Image (Jetpack)” widget from the left column into your right-hand favorite widget area, such as the “Main Widget Area.”
3. Click on the enabled extension in the right column to display the available configuration options.
4. Enter a title for the widget or leave it blank if you just want to display the image without any accompanying text.
5. Enter the full URL of the image in the box next to “Image URL”. Make sure the URL links directly to an image, including its file extension, such as JPG. First you need to upload the image to your WordPress media library (Media -> Add New) and then get the URL from there.
6. Fill in the passage replacing some words that describe the image. This text will appear when someone moves the cursor over the image.
7. Enter a title and caption for the image if you want. Finally, choose alignment and specify the width and height for the image in pixels if you want.
8. If you want to turn the image into a link, enter the full URL of the link you want to use in the “Link URL” box.
9. Click “Save” to save your changes. The image will appear instantly on your WordPress blog.

Thats all to have it! You can add as many images to the sidebar or other available widget areas as you like, simply by dragging another instance of the widget onto the desired sidebar area.