How to use is_active_sidebar filter in WordPress

is_active_sidebar filter

Filters whether a dynamic sidebar is considered “active”.

To use the is_active_sidebar filter, first you have to register it using add_filter. You can write this code into the functions.php of your activated theme or in a custom WordPress Plugin.

We at WePlugins, always prefer to create a custom WordPress Plugin while using hooks so nothing breaks when you update your WordPress Theme in the future.

In the below live example, we have defined a function weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_defaults which takes 2 parameters and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter is_active_sidebar is the name of the hook, The second parameter weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_defaults is the name of the function which needs to be called, the third parameter is the priority of calling the hook if the same hook is used multiple times and the last parameter is the number of arguments (if any) to be passed in the registered function.

Sometimes, you have to remove a registered hook so you can use remove_filter to remove the is_active_sidebar filter.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook.

• $is_active_sidebar : (bool) Whether or not the sidebar should be considered “active”. In other words, whether the sidebar contains any widgets.
• $index : (int|string) Index, name, or ID of the dynamic sidebar.

Live Example

apply_filters( 'is_active_sidebar', bool $is_active_sidebar, int|string $index )

Below is an example of how you can use this hook.

Example 1: Basic Usage

This example demonstrates how to modify the is_active_sidebar filter to meet your website’s requirements.

    function weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_defaults($is_active_sidebar, $index) { 
        // Update the $is_active_sidebar variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $is_active_sidebar variable conditionally too if you want.
        return $is_active_sidebar; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "is_active_sidebar", "weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_defaults", 10, 2 );

Example 2: Conditional Sidebar Activation

This example shows how to activate a sidebar only for a specific page.

    function weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_conditional($is_active_sidebar, $index) { 
        if (is_page('about-us')) {
            $is_active_sidebar = true;
        }
        return $is_active_sidebar; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "is_active_sidebar", "weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_conditional", 10, 2 );

Example 3: Removing the Hook Callback

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

remove_filter( "is_active_sidebar", "weplugins_modify_is_active_sidebar_defaults", 10, 2 );

Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook or need customizations, please contact us.