---
title: "Deactivating and Disabling Widgets in WordPress"
description: "You understand the importance of WordPress widgets and have added a few widgets to your website. But as your website grows, you’ll find that you no longer want certain widgets on your site. ..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/add-remove-sidbar-widgets/
date: 2020-06-05
modified: 2026-03-11
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["WordPress Plugins"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# Deactivating and Disabling Widgets in WordPress

![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/HideWPWidgets.png)

You understand the importance of [WordPress widgets ](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/what-are-plugins-and-widgets/)and have [added a few widgets](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/wordpress-text-widget/) to your website. But as your website grows, you’ll find that you no longer want certain widgets on your site. 

Because of the easy-to-use nature of the platform, deactivating and disabling widgets in WordPress is as easy as [adding them](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/finding-and-installing-widgets-in-wordpress/). 

Continue reading to learn more about:

- [Deactivating Widgets in WordPress](#Deactivating-Widgets-in-Wordpress)
- [Disabling Widgets in WordPress](#Disabling-Widgets-in-Wordpress)

Enjoy fast, secure hosting optimized for your WordPress website with our [WordPress Hosting plans](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/wordpress-hosting)! 

## Deactivating Widgets in WordPress

You can easily deactivate widgets you no longer want to display via your WordPress dashboard. To remove widgets from your website:

1. [Log into the WordPress Dashboard](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/).
2. Navigate to **Appearance > Widgets**. 
3. To remove the widget from your website **and delete the widget settings**, drag and drop it from the widget area to the *Available Widgets *area.
4. To remove the widget from your website **while saving the widget setting**, drag and drop it from the widget area to the *Inactive Widgets *area.

The widget has now been removed from your website!

![Remove widget and remove settings](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WP_Widgets_Settings_Not_Saved-1024x572.png)

![remove widget but save settings](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WP_Widgets_Settings_Saved-1024x572.png)

## Disabling Widgets in WordPress

Through website creation, tweaks, and edits, you may find yourself with a lot of widgets. With just the widgets from installed plugins and the WordPress default widgets, your widget list may become long and crowded.

Luckily, with the free [Widget Disable plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-widget-disable/), you can disable and hide unwanted widgets from your widget list. To disable widgets in your WordPress dashboard:

1. [Log into the WordPress Dashboard](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/).
2. [Search for, install, and activate](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/install-wordpress-plugins/) *Widget Disable*.
3. Navigate to **Appearance>Disable Widgets**.
4. Under *Sidebar Widgets*, check off the box next to all of the widgets you want to disable and hide. You can do the same thing for *Dashboard Widgets.*
5. Click** Save Changes** to hide the selected widgets from your widget list.

![download wordpress disable widgets plugin](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WP_Add_Disable_Widget-1024x510.png)

![using wordpress disable widgets plugin](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WP_Hide_Widgets-1024x572.png)

As you update the dynamic, custom content you add to your website via widgets, check out more WordPress tips and tricks in our [WordPress Education Channel](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/)!