Struggling with Sidebar in WordPress? Here’s How to Remove It

Introduction

Are you tired of your WordPress site looking cluttered with a sidebar? Or perhaps you’re struggling to figure out how to remove it? Not to worry, in this article we will walk you through how to remove a sidebar in WordPress.

Backup Your Site

Before making any changes to your site, it’s important to create a backup. This helps to avoid any potential data loss or unwanted modifications to your site. Always make a backup before proceeding to ensure you can easily revert your site back to its previous state.

Choose a Theme Without a Sidebar

The easiest way to remove a sidebar in WordPress is to select a theme that doesn’t have one. Simply navigate to Appearance > Themes and click on the “Add New” button. Here you can browse free and premium WordPress themes that users can download and install. Once you’ve found a theme that you like, click the “Install” button, and then activate the theme.

Disable Sidebar Using Customization Option

If your theme includes a customization option to disable the sidebar, this is a simple solution. Navigate to Appearance > Customize from your WordPress dashboard and locate the “Disable Sidebar” option. Click it and save the changes. This should remove the sidebar in all the pages and posts of your website.

Remove Sidebar Through Coding

If your theme doesn’t have a built-in option to remove the sidebar, you can remove it through coding. This method requires a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and PHP. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Locate Your Theme Files

Connect to your site’s server using an FTP client and navigate to the wp-content/themes folder. Locate the folder for the theme you’re currently using.

Step 2: Open sidebar.php File

Look for the sidebar.php file inside the folder. This file is the one responsible for displaying the sidebar on your site. Open the file in a code editor.

Step 3: Remove Sidebar Code

Remove the code that displays the sidebar on your site. The code will likely be enclosed in an HTML tag, the most common of which is <div id=”secondary” class=”widget-area” role=”complementary”>. The specific code to be removed may vary depending on the theme you’re using, simply remove or comment the code by adding “/*” at the start and “*/” at the end of the code.

Step 4: Save and Refresh

Save the file and refresh your site. The sidebar should now be removed from your site. It’s important to create a child theme before making any changes to your theme files.

Create a Child Theme

Creating a child theme is the safest way to make changes to your website’s theme files. Follow the steps outlined below:

Step 1: Create a New Folder

Create a new folder in your wp-content/themes directory with a unique name that identifies it as the child theme of the parent theme.

Step 2: Create a Style.css File

Create a style.css file that contains information about your child theme such as its name, description, author, and version.

Step 3: Create a Functions.php File

Create a new functions.php file that modifies the functionality of WordPress. This code uses the remove_action() function to remove the sidebar from the parent theme.

Step 4: Activate Your Child Theme

Activate your new child theme from your WordPress dashboard. Your site should now have the original design of the parent theme, but the sidebar should be removed.

Conclusion

Removing a sidebar in WordPress doesn’t have to be difficult. The easiest way is to select a theme without a sidebar, or you can customize your current theme to remove it. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to remove the sidebar from your WordPress theme quickly and easily. Remember to create a backup of your site before making any changes, especially if you’re modifying the theme’s core files.