The Revolutioners

Simplest way to Display Random Rotating Dynamic Posts in WordPress Widget and Sidebar

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I have been trying to do if for a long time but could not find any plug-in to rotate posts in sidebar. Actually I wanted to display my featured posts in sidebar that too in random order and with some effects if possible.

After a lot of research I found out some plug-ins that could display random posts in text format only with some more limitations like; no pictures can be attached, no random display, no effects while displaying the posts. With the this wordpress technique you would basically be able to fulfill the following requirements.

• Display random posts in sidebar.
• Display posts with pictures of your choice
• Display posts with amazing jQuery effects.
• You can display n number of posts.
• Everything is customizable in WP-Admin panel.
• No touch of code required.
• Works with the newest version of WordPress 2.8.2

A Demo can be seen at the right hand side of this post. Alright, lets get started now.

Things required to get Random Rotating Posts in WordPress Sidebar:

• Any WordPress installed (Only checked with 2.8.2 though)
• Sponsor Slideshow Widget Plug-in
• Images of your choice to be displayed in the Slideshow.

I used it to display my random posts however It can be used for any other purpose. You just need to extend your creativity. Alright, so here’s what you need to get it working.

1. First of all install and activate Sponsor Slideshow Widget Plug-in.
2. Go to your Links section and create a new category called Random Posts.

1. Upload new media and copy location of the image that you have uploaded.

1. Now create links with your Posts and insert the images accordingly. I choose 300×300 px pictures as my sidebar width is 300. You need to choose images as per your sidebar width.

1. Select Random Posts from drop down in Slideshow Widget. Also make sure to select the width of the Slideshow widget as per your Sidebar widget. Do not use anything under title section as you don’t want it to be displayed as some category. Also check the order of the post. If you want them to be displayed randomly, you can select random or in order. The effect can also be selected. I selected random again as I like it to be different all the time.

That’s it. Now all you need to do is go to your home page and see the beutiful random posts without any file change. This is the simplest way to create this amazing Rotating Random Posts Widget in WordPress Sidebar.

While writing this post I am getting a really nice idea, may be you guys can try and let me know if that worked or not. You can add as many Slideshow widgets as you can. So create another category and add links to that category, may be with different size of the images and display them anywhere you want. It will definitely work with 2 column and 2 column themes. I am using vigilance Theme. Not checked with any other theme.

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Tags: wordpress hacks, wordpress plugin, wordpress tips and tricks