How to Access and Edit Sidebar Manager in Brilliant Directories
Brilliant Directories 6 minutes read Brilliant Directories https://youtu.be/Wguj0Sj0wYQ?si=HIIHD0T4bFAtRTO0 Ever wished you could control exactly what appears on the sides of your web pages? The Sidebar Manager in Brilliant Directories gives you that flexibility. It’s a simple yet powerful tool that helps you organize, customize, and manage sidebar content — from search modules and banners to dynamic filters — all in one place.Whether you want to tweak an existing layout or create a brand-new sidebar, this guide will walk you through every step of the process so you can make your pages more functional and visually balanced. “Great website design isn’t just about looks — it’s about control, clarity, and the power to shape every sidebar your way.” Zain Ali Co-Founder & CTO Quick Summary: Sidebar Manager at a Glance Section Key Takeaways What Is the Sidebar Manager in Brilliant Directories? It’s a built-in tool in the admin panel under Toolbox » Sidebar Manager, allowing you to manage and customize sidebars for your website pages. How Many Default Sidebars Are Available? Every site comes with four default sidebars, with additional ones like Global Website Search appearing only when specific add-ons are enabled. How Can You Edit an Existing Sidebar? Use the “Customize” option for default sidebars or “Edit” for custom ones to open the sidebar editor and modify widgets easily. How Do You Add or Remove Widgets? Drag and drop widgets into the sidebar layout to add them, or click the X beside any widget to remove it instantly. What’s Important When Using Search Modules? Only one dropdown search module should be active per sidebar to prevent functionality issues on the front end. What Are the Actions Available for Custom Sidebars? Options include Disable, Clone, Copy Shortcode, and Delete—each providing quick control over sidebar management and duplication. How Do Bulk Actions Work? You can select multiple sidebars, choose a bulk action such as delete or disable, and apply it to all selected items at once. How Can You Create a New Sidebar? Click the “New Sidebar” button to manually add one, then customize it with widgets, banners, and filters as needed. Which Widgets Are Allowed in Sidebars? Only widgets labeled “Module,” “Dynamic Category Filter,” or “Banner,” along with custom widgets, can be added to your sidebars. Optimize Your Brilliant Directories Website Today! Book Free Strategy Call Step-by-Step Process to Manage Sidebars in Brilliant Directories Managing sidebars effectively keeps your website organized, user-friendly, and visually consistent. Follow these steps to quickly set up, customize, and optimize your sidebars with ease. ESSENTIAL STEPS TO ADD OR EDIT A SIDEBAR Step 1: Access the Sidebar Manager Go to your admin panel and navigate to Toolbox » Sidebar Manager. This is where all default and custom sidebars are listed for easy management. Step 2: Choose the Sidebar to Edit Click Customize for default sidebars or Edit for custom ones. This opens the editor where you can view and modify the sidebar layout. Step 3: Add or Remove Widgets Browse through the available widgets, then drag and drop your preferred ones into position. To remove any, simply click the X icon beside them. Step 4: Adjust Additional Settings Use the Actions dropdown to disable, clone, copy shortcode, or delete a sidebar. These tools give you more flexibility and control over your layout. Step 5: Choose Your Niche and Market Click New Sidebar to start fresh. Add widgets like modules, banners, or filters to build a unique layout that fits your page design. Pro Tip Keep only one dropdown search module per sidebar to ensure smooth functionality and prevent conflicts. Where Can I Access This Tool? You can find this tool inside the admin panel by going to Toolbox » Sidebar Manager. Every website includes 4 Default Sidebars by default. (Note: The Global Website Search and Personal Post Feed sidebars appear only if those specific add-ons are enabled on your site.) How to Edit These Sidebars To modify a default sidebar, click Customize from the Actions dropdown.For custom sidebars, click Edit instead. After selecting a sidebar, browse through the list of available widgets. When you find the one you want, simply drag and drop the widget into the desired location within the sidebar. In this example, the “Bootstrap Theme – Search Module – Local Radius Search” widget was added to the Member Search Results sidebar. If you wish to remove a widget, click the X icon beside it. Here’s how the front-end looked before the changes: And here’s the updated version after applying the new sidebar settings: Important: Only one dropdown search module can function correctly per sidebar. Other Options for the Sidebar Manager Along with the main editing features, the Sidebar Manager also provides several other customization options. Actions for Custom Sidebars Next to each Edit button, there’s an Actions dropdown menu. Here’s what each option does: Disable – Temporarily disables the sidebar currently in use. When disabled, the system will revert to using the default sidebar version. Clone – Recommended method to create a new sidebar. Copy Shortcode – Useful when you need to insert the sidebar or a specific widget elsewhere. Delete – Permanently removes the sidebar from the website. Bulk Actions You can select multiple sidebars using the checkboxes beside them, or choose Select All to apply an action to every sidebar at once. Next, pick a Bulk Action from the dropdown and click Apply. The system will perform the selected action on the chosen sidebars. New Sidebar To manually create a brand-new sidebar, click the button located on the far right. Additional Information How to Create a Sidebar Popular Sidebar Widgets Note: Only widgets labeled with “Module”, “Dynamic Category Filter”, or “Banner”, along with custom widgets, are permitted for sidebar use. Common Problems When Managing Sidebars in Brilliant Directories and Their Solutions Sidebar Not Saving Changes sometimes don’t appear because users forget to save their sidebar updates. Fix: Always click Save after editing or renaming a sidebar to make sure your changes apply. Duplicate Sidebar NamesUsing identical names for multiple sidebars











