Some WordPress plugins require you to enter a ‘PHP call’ in the sidebar to place the output of the plugin where you want it. An example of this is the Top Commentators plugin - to get it to appear where it is on my blog I had to edit the sidebar PHP file and insert the relevant code.

Now this is not difficult, but it would be easier if you could drop the code into a widget, that can be placed on either sidebar, anywhere you want it. Unfortunately, the normal text widget will not execute PHP code, so you have to do it the old fashioned way. Unless you use the execphp plugin, which enables you to  drop the php call into a widget box, and then just drag and drop it where you want.

The only problem was for those readers of yours that still persist in using IE6: The PHP widget would break the sidebar below wherever it was placed (This didn’t happen in other browsers). However that is easily solved by wrapping the PHP call in list tags like so:

‹ul›

<?php CODE ?>

‹/ul›

An extremely useful plugin.