Widgets, Gadgets, and Add-Ons

Widgets, gadgets, and add-ons are the bells and whistles that make blogs interesting and multidimensional. Think of widgets and gadgets as tools within a blog that increase interactivity and integration with other online tools. Add-ons are usually outside tools created as a way to enhance a blog.

WordPress features a useful selection of gadgets one can add to a blog's template. By simply dragging and dropping, these simple tools can be added to any blog's sidebar. However, the number of gadgets available with WordPress has been limited. Unlike most other features, WordPress has chosen to simply this aspect of their tool. Still, most user needs are met with these tools. The gadgets interface is found under appearance.
 
 WordPress, as an open source application, allows developers to make some pretty awesome plugins. So, where WordPress lacks in widgets, it more than makes up with plugins that improve usability and integration. There are more than 18,000 plugins available that can help with everything from Twitter alignment to multimedia sharing. Plugins are easy to add when using WordPress.com, but can be difficult if you're hosting your own blog.

Gadgets are to Blogger what widgets are to WordPress. The biggest difference is that there are many, many more gadgets available. Also, users have more options for placement on pages.
Widgets and Add-Ons are also available for Tumblr. The difference is that most of Tumblr's extras exist outside of Tumblr and often require some additional programming knowledge. Most Tumblr extras are for integrating Tumblr posts with other social media and for posting from various locations. Some excellent lists are here, here, and here.