by Pankaj Anupam 5 (2 reviews)

Shortcodes in Sidebar

Name: Shortcodes in Sidebar
Rating: 5.0 (2 reviews)
Author: Pankaj Anupam

Runs shortcodes in the Custom HTML widget, the one sidebar widget WordPress still renders without executing them.

Shortcodes in Sidebar ranks #9,726 among WordPress.org plugins with 400+ active installations, is #1,279 of 8,534 in the Customization category, a 5/5 rating from 2 reviews, and was last updated Aug 10, 2026. Data from WordPress.org, refreshed twice daily — see methodology.

Tested up to WP 7 (Current: 7.1)

v26.0 Current Version v26.0

Updated 1 month ago Last Update on 10 Aug, 2026

Refreshed 8 hours ago Last Refreshed on

#1,279 of 8,534 in Customization Top 25% by installs Downloads -7.7% this week

View on WordPress.org

Rank

#9,726

-6 this week

Active Installs

400+

-11.1%

KW Avg Position

0.7 worse

Downloads

14.8K

+12 today

Support Resolved

— No change

Rating

100%

Review 5 out of 5

5 (2 reviews)

Next Milestone 500

Total Progress 53%

400+ 500+

492

Ranks to Climb

Growth Needed

8,000,000

Active Installs

Pro

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Rank Changes

Current #9,726

Change

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Active Installs Growth

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Active Installs 0,000,000+

Growth +0.0%

Peak 0,000,000

Downloads Growth

Downloads

Growth

Peak

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Reviews & Ratings

5.0

2 reviews

Overall 100%

2 (100%)

0 (0%)

Security History

Source: WPVulnerability

No known vulnerabilities on record for Shortcodes in Sidebar. Checked 1 month ago.

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Plugin Details

Version: 26.0
Last Updated: Aug 10, 2026
Requires WP: 5.0+
Tested Up To: 7
PHP Version: 7.4 or higher
Author: Pankaj Anupam

Support & Rating

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5
Reviews: 2
Support Threads: 0
Resolved: 0%

Keywords

custom html shortcode shortcodes sidebar widget

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TL;DR

AI summary of the plugin's readme

This plugin is for WordPress site owners who want to use shortcodes in their sidebar widgets. It solves the problem of shortcodes not executing in sidebar text widgets, such as those for contact forms or other shortcode-enabled features.

Executes shortcodes in sidebars
Works in text widgets
Enables contact forms in sidebars

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Shortcodes in Sidebar

No. The plugin is either active or it is not.

Only if you use the Custom HTML widget. Shortcodes in the Text widget and in block widgets are handled by WordPress itself now, and this plugin does not interfere with either.

Because WordPress has done that for you since version 4.8. Earlier releases of this plugin did it too, which is why you may remember needing it. I upgraded from 3.0 and something looks different Version 3.0 ran shortcodes in the Text widget before WordPress added its paragraph formatting, so shortcode output could end up with stray <p> tags inside it. WordPress now runs them afterwards, in the right order, so that markup is cleaner. The content itself is unchanged.

Yes, in the sense that there is nothing to do: WordPress runs shortcodes in block widgets on 5.8 and above, and the Shortcode block exists for exactly that. A Custom HTML widget kept through the Legacy Widget block is covered by this plugin as normal.

Anywhere a Custom HTML widget is rendered by WordPress, yes. Widgets rendered by a builder's own code, outside the core widget classes, are up to that builder.

No. Widget titles are not filtered by this plugin.

shortcodes-in-sidebar-widgets.php is the name it has had since 2011. WordPress identifies an installed plugin by its file path, so renaming it would deactivate the plugin on every site that updates.