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How Widgets Work


This is a quick summary of how Widgetbox widgets work.

The part that differs from most standalone widgets is that each user’s unique widget configuration is stored by Widgetbox and retrieved when the widget is rendered.

This allows the user to reconfigure the widget without re-installing it on their site.

There are three major steps:

Step Description
Developer creates widget
User subscribes to widget
  • The user customizes the widget to their liking using the Widget Settings panel. The configuration info is stored on Widgetbox.
  • The user then puts some Widgetbox-generated code on their site that will invoke the display of the widget. Depending on the site, Widgetbox can automate the installation of the widget code for the user.
Web surfer views site This step is explained below.