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Widget CSS Classes

By Jory Hogeveen

Design & Themes / Themes & Templates

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Widget CSS Classes Review - In-Depth Analysis

Easily add custom classes and IDs to your WordPress widgets. Enhance styling with first, last, even, odd, and numbered classes.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.81/10

User Rating

4.9/5 (based on 74+ reviews)

Active Installations

80,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Widget CSS Classes gives you the ability to add custom classes and ids to your WordPress widgets.

Please note that this plugin doesn't enable you to enter custom CSS. You'll need to edit your theme's style.css or add another plugin that allows you to input custom CSS.

This plugin also adds additional classes to widgets to help you style them easier. It adds classes such as widget-first for the first widget, widget-last for the last widget, widget-odd for odd numbered widgets, widget-even for even numbered widgets, and numbered classes like widget-1, widget-2, etc.

Features include adding a text field to define a class, specifying multiple classes, checkboxes for predefined classes, and more. It is fully translatable and compatible with various widget plugins.

Comparing to Alternatives

Widget CSS Classes stands alone in its category with no close direct alternatives available, making it a unique solution for adding CSS classes to widgets.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Extremely simple and effective functionality
Highly rated with a 4.9 average from 74 users
No known security vulnerabilities
Ideal for front-end developers needing precise CSS targeting
Lightweight and easy to use without unnecessary features

Weaknesses

No support for the latest WordPress widget management style (as of version 5.8)
Lacks a pro version with advanced features
Limited to adding CSS classes only, no additional widget customization options

User Sentiment Analysis

With 94.6% of users giving a 5-star rating and very few low ratings, the plugin is overwhelmingly well-received for its simplicity and effectiveness.

Positive highlights

'Works, simply and well…' — crzyhrse
'Great! 🙂' — xszejdi
'A very useful plug-in for me as a front-end developer. It’s very easy now to address directly a widget with CSS code instead of all kind of different classes to use.' — Damiaan van Vliet
'This is a great and invaluable help for us frontend developers! The plugin lets you easily add your classes to any widget.' — andiszek
'Works' — Kasp

Common complaints

Does not work with the new WordPress 5.8 widget management style

Weaknesses

Limited compatibility with latest WordPress versions
No advanced customization features beyond CSS classes
No premium support or paid version available

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Front-end developers and site builders who need a straightforward way to add custom CSS classes to widgets without extra complexity.

Not ideal for

Users who require compatibility with the latest WordPress widget management system or need advanced widget customization features beyond CSS class additions.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version provides all core functionality, allowing users to add custom CSS classes to any widget easily.

Final Verdict

Widget CSS Classes is a highly rated and simple plugin that effectively fills a niche need for adding CSS classes to widgets. Its ease of use and lack of security issues make it a reliable choice for developers and site owners who want straightforward widget styling control.

However, its lack of updates for the latest WordPress widget management and absence of advanced features or a pro version may limit its appeal for users needing more robust or future-proof solutions. Overall, it remains a valuable tool for those with basic CSS class customization needs.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Widget CSS Classes plugin.

Custom classes

Widget styling

WordPress widgets

Screenshots

FAQ

You need to make sure you have an HTML element defined for before_widget and after_widget in your active theme’s register_sidebar functions,
usually located in your theme’s functions.php (/wp-content/themes/yourtheme/functions.php).

This HTML element must have class and id attributes. This plugin will not work if before_widget and after_widget are blank.

Example:
register_sidebar( array( 'name' => 'Sidebar', 'before_widget' => '<div id="%1$s" class="widget %2$s">', 'after_widget' => '</div>', 'before_title' => '<h2 class="widget-title">', 'after_title' => '</h2>' ) );