widgets can be pretty much anything. They are a bit of code that accomplishes some function. A lot of the time they go in your sidebar (but they can go anywhere really, depends what your theme is set up for).
To use them frequently, if they are not core widgets, you first install the plugin. Next in your appearance ->widgets menu you position them where you need them, and set up anything that may need setting up.
Its impossible to give a thorough description of what widgets are, since they are all different. I’ve got music playing widgets, photo showing widgets, advertising widgets, etc
Fist of all thank you for your reply!
So, they are inactive by default and need to be activated before they can be used?
Thanks
well, the core ones that come with wordpress, that is correct. You would drag them onto your sidebar to activate them.
There are also many widgets here….
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/
First you would have to install the plugin, then you would have access to the widget
