The sidebar is an area in your WordPress theme designed for widgets, allowing you to display additional information separate from the main content. However, sidebars can be distracting and occupy valuable screen space.
At CanadaCreate, we’ve assisted thousands of users in designing their WordPress websites. Based on our experience, there are several effective methods to remove a sidebar. You can hide it through theme settings, eliminate it from specific pages and posts, or utilize the full site editor.
In this article, we will guide you through the simple steps to remove the sidebar in WordPress.
Reasons to Remove the Sidebar in WordPress
Most WordPress themes include multiple sidebars or widget-ready areas.
Sidebars can be used to display a list of recent posts, advertisements, email signup forms, or any other content that is separate from the main page or post.
At CanadaCreate, we utilize a sidebar to promote our social media channels and showcase our most popular posts.
You can easily add elements to a theme’s sidebar using WordPress widgets.
In many WordPress themes, the appearance of the sidebar varies based on whether the visitor is on a desktop or mobile device. Since smartphones and tablets have smaller screens, WordPress often relocates sidebars to the bottom of the screen.
Depending on your site’s configuration, the appearance may seem unusual. Mobile users will have to scroll to the bottom of the screen to access sidebar content, which could impact their experience. For further details, refer to our guide on how to view the mobile version of WordPress sites from a desktop.
Even on desktop devices, the sidebar can divert attention from crucial content, like the page’s call to action.
Now, let’s explore how to eliminate the sidebar in WordPress. We will guide you through removing the sidebar from your entire site and hiding it on specific pages or posts.
- Method 1: Remove Sidebars Using Your WordPress Theme Settings
- Method 2: Remove the Sidebar Using Full Site Editing (Applicable for Block-Based Themes Only)
- Method 3: Remove the Sidebar From Your Entire WordPress Website (Advanced Technique)
- Method 4: Remove Sidebars From Individual Pages in WordPress
- Method 5: Remove Sidebars from a Static Page in WordPress
- Method 6: Remove the Sidebar from a Single Post in WordPress
- Video Tutorial
If you want to skip ahead to a specific method, feel free to use the links provided above.
Method 1: Remove Sidebars Using Your WordPress Theme Settings
Many popular WordPress themes include options to eliminate sidebars for a cleaner appearance. Depending on your chosen theme, you can often remove sidebars from specific posts, pages, or even across your entire website.
To determine if your theme provides this feature, navigate to Appearance » Customize.
In the left-hand menu, search for a setting labeled ‘Sidebar’ or something similar.
The image below illustrates the sidebar options available in the widely-used Astra WordPress theme.
If you find a ‘Sidebar’ or similar option, select it and explore the settings available to disable the sidebar.
This could appear as a dropdown menu, visual thumbnails of various sidebar layouts, or another type of setting.
If your theme lacks a specific ‘Sidebar’ option, you might still be able to remove the sidebar by selecting the ‘Page’ or a comparable section.
As shown in the image below, Astra also features a ‘Page’ setting.
Here, you’ll find various layouts, including options that completely remove the sidebar, such as ‘No Sidebar’ and ‘Full Width / Stretched.’
Simply click on a thumbnail to apply your chosen layout to your site.
Regardless of how you choose to remove the sidebar, remember to click ‘Publish’ to save your changes.
Many themes offer the option to remove the sidebar from specific posts and pages, which is especially helpful for creating custom layouts like landing or sales pages.
To check if your theme includes these options, open any post or page where you wish to hide the sidebar. In the right-hand menu, select either ‘Post’ or ‘Page’ and look for a ‘Post Settings’ or ‘Page Settings’ section.
If your theme has this section, click to expand it and search for settings that enable you to remove the sidebar.
The image below displays the post settings for the popular ThemeIsle Hestia theme.
In some WordPress themes, you may not be able to remove the sidebar through the customizer or page editor. If that’s the case, keep reading for alternative methods to eliminate the sidebar in WordPress.
Method 2: Removing the Sidebar with Full Site Editing (Applicable to Block-Based Themes Only)
If you’re using a block theme like Divi, you can remove the sidebar using Full Site Editing (FSE) along with the block editor.
This method provides a quick and straightforward way to eliminate the sidebar throughout your entire site, though it may not be compatible with all themes.
To access the editor, navigate to Appearance » Editor.
By default, the full site editor displays your theme’s home template, but you can easily remove the sidebar from any page.
To explore all available options, simply choose ‘Templates,’ ‘Patterns,’ or ‘Pages.’
Next, click on the template or page where you wish to eliminate the sidebar.
WordPress will display a preview of the design. To edit this template, click on the small pencil icon.
You can now select the sidebar.
In the small toolbar that appears, click on the dotted icon.
You can remove the sidebar by clicking on the ‘Remove Column’ option or a similar setting.
After completing that, click on the ‘Save’ button to apply your changes.
Now, when you visit your WordPress website, you’ll notice that the sidebar has been removed.
You might also find our guide on WordPress full-site editing helpful.
Method 3: Remove the Sidebar From Your Entire WordPress Website (Advanced)
This method enables you to eliminate sidebars from every page and post on your WordPress blog or website.
You will need to modify your theme files, making this option less suitable for beginners. However, this method should be effective for most WordPress themes, including those without a built-in option to hide the sidebar.
Be aware that any direct modifications to your WordPress theme files will be lost when you update the theme.
For this reason, we suggest creating a child theme, which allows you to update your main WordPress theme while preserving your customizations.
Begin by connecting to your WordPress site using an FTP client like FileZilla, or utilize the file manager available in your WordPress hosting cPanel. If you are using SiteGround, you can access the Site Tools dashboard instead.
If you are new to using FTP, refer to our comprehensive guide on how to connect to your site via FTP.
After connecting, navigate to /wp-content/themes/ and open the folder for your active WordPress theme.
WordPress themes consist of various templates, so you will need to modify all templates that contain a sidebar. To determine which files to edit, consult our guide on WordPress template hierarchy.
For instance, you may need to modify index.php, page.php, single.php, archive.php, home.php, and others.
To edit a file, open it in a text editor like Notepad. Then, locate the line that appears as follows:
<?php get_sidebar(); ?>
If your theme includes multiple sidebars, the code may vary slightly, and you might encounter several instances of sidebar code. Usually, this code will feature the word ‘sidebar’ within the function, such as:
<?php get_sidebar('footer-widget-area'); ?>
You can simply remove the line of code corresponding to the sidebar you wish to eliminate.
After that, save and upload the modified file back to your WordPress hosting account. You can repeat this process for all template files that contain a sidebar.
Once you’re done, visit your online store, blog, or website to see the changes take effect.
You might observe that even though the sidebars have been removed, the content area remains the same width, leaving the sidebar space empty.
This occurs when the theme specifies a fixed width for the content area. After removing the sidebar, you may need to modify the width of the content area by adding custom CSS to your WordPress theme.
To do this, navigate to Theme »Customize. In the left-hand menu, select Additional CSS.
You can now paste the following code into the small code editor:
.content-area { width: 100%; margin: 0; border: none; padding: 0;
}
.content-area .site {
margin:0;
}
After completing that step, click the ‘Publish’ button. Now, visit your website, and you will notice that the content area occupies 100% of the available space.
Method 4: Removing Sidebars from Specific Pages in WordPress
You might want to eliminate the sidebar on certain pages while keeping it visible on others. For instance, many websites choose not to display the sidebar on their checkout page to minimize distractions for shoppers and encourage them to complete their purchases.
If your goal is to remove the sidebar from a particular page, we suggest using a page builder plugin like SeedProd.
SeedProd allows you to create any type of page using an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, making it simple to add or remove the sidebar as needed.
In the SeedProd editor, just click on the sidebar you wish to remove, then click the trash can icon to delete it.
If you prefer to remove the sidebar from your entire site, you can also use SeedProd to effortlessly create a custom theme without any sidebars.
For comprehensive guidance, please refer to our tutorial on creating a custom page in WordPress using SeedProd.
Step 5: How to Remove Sidebars from a Static Page in WordPress
Many WordPress themes offer various templates, including full-width page layouts that eliminate sidebars, providing a clean and focused content area. You can utilize these templates to remove sidebars from any page.
To check if your theme includes a full-width template, open any page and look for the ‘Template’ option in the right-hand menu.
In the popup window that appears, access the dropdown menu and search for a full-width template option.
If you locate a full-width template, click on it to apply it to the current page.
If your theme lacks a full-width template, you can create one manually.
Open a simple text editor like Notepad and paste the following code into a new file:
<?php
/*
* Template Name: Full-Width
*/
get_header();
?>
Now, save this file as full-width.php.
Next, connect to your website using an FTP client or the file manager provided by your WordPress hosting service.
Next, navigate to /wp-content/themes/ and open the folder for your active theme. Locate the page.php file and edit it using any text editor.
Then, copy all the content that follows the line,and paste it into your full-width.php file.
After that, locate and remove the line that says:
<?php get_sidebar(); ?>
You can now save your modifications and upload the full-width.php file back to your theme folder.
Once that’s complete, you can apply this template to any page by following the same steps outlined earlier.
Important:If you have a page open in the content editor while creating the full-width.php file, you will need to refresh the editor for the new template to show up in the dropdown menu.
For further information, check out our guide on creating a full-width page template in WordPress.
Method 6: Removing the Sidebar from a Single Post in WordPress
WordPress also supports post templates, which function similarly to page templates.
To eliminate the sidebar from specific single posts, you can create a custom single-post template, which is akin to designing a full-width page template.
Begin by creating a new template file with a text editor such as Notepad. After that, copy and paste the following code into the file:
<?php
/*
* Template Name: Featured Article
* Template Post Type: post, page, product
*/
get_header();
?>
This code generates a new template named ‘Featured Article,’ making it accessible for any page or post, as well as any product post types in your online store.
In your custom single post template, you will need to remove the sidebar section of the code. For detailed instructions, refer to our guide on creating custom single post templates in WordPress.
Once completed, save this file as full-width.php.
Next, upload the file to your current WordPress theme folder using an FTP client or file manager.
After uploading, you can apply this template to any post by clicking on the link next to ‘Template’ in the right-hand menu.
In the popup that appears, select the full-width template you just created from the dropdown menu.
Next, click on ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to apply your changes.
We hope this article has helped you learn how to remove the sidebar in your WordPress theme. You may also want to explore our step-by-step guide on adding custom after post widgets in WordPress and discover the best Gutenberg-friendly WordPress themes.
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