[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #24910: Adding a class field to the text widget

[WordPress Trac]

#24910: Adding a class field to the text widget
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 Reporter:  walkinonwat3r  |      Owner:
     Type:  enhancement    |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal         |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Widgets        |    Version:
 Severity:  trivial        |   Keywords:  dev-feedback
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 The text widget is often used as a catch-all way to enter arbitrary HTML
 into widget areas. I think it would benefit from a HTML class entry field,
 which would allow theme designers/developers to apply custom styling at
 the <div class="widget"> level.

 We already do this for body and post classes, and the same logic and
 benefits apply here.

 One example use case that comes up on many client projects is social media
 links. I often want to add a custom background to the entire widget, not
 just the text area. Right now, if I want to do this, I need to either
 a) '''Give up''': Forego the background on the widget title, and just
 apply it to the text area.
 b) '''Repetition/Overkill''': Write a custom widget with exactly the same
 code as the text widget, just with one extra class.
 c) '''Loss of dragability''': Use nth-child to target the widget
 d) '''Divorcing styling from meaning''': Use the widget's ID

 Being able to add a '.social-links' class to the widget, along with the
 content, would allow making targeted CSS changes over the entire widget,
 while requiring less specificity and eliminating the concern of losing
 widget-specific styles due to reordering or re-spawning the widget, as may
 occur with an :nth-child or ID-based solution.

 Per-widget classes are more modular and more semantic. In terms of
 implementation, this could be handled the same as menu item classes, i.e.
 with a screen option to toggle the field's visibility. Ideally, I think
 all widget types should have this field, but the text widget is an
 especially strong case, since it can be used for so many different
 purposes.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/24910>
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