Has the HubPages Widget Been Discontinued?

1. 94

   eugbugposted 7 years ago

   I noticed it wasn't working on my blog. So I re-copied and re-pasted the code just in case something had been updated, but still no success.
   Anyone else having problems?

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   1. 81

      sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      No mine seems to be working fine on my website.

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2. 94

   Glenn Stokposted 7 years ago

   Although I'm not using the HubPages Widget anymore, I just checked mine, and it still works.
   
   Does your blog still support JavaScript? The HubPages widget uses JavaScript, so it will not work without it.
   
   Where did you copy the code from when you re-copied it? The correct code can be downloaded from
   http://YOUR-USER-ID.hubpages.com/getwidget
   
   Replace YOUR-USER-ID with your own.
   
   For example, my widget is
   http://glennstok.hubpages.com/getwidget
   
   Here's the original blog post about it back in 2009 (somewhat outdated):
   http://blog.hubpages.com/2009/11/17/hubpages-widget/

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   1. 94

      eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I used the widget from here:
      
      http://hubpages.com/help/ads
      
      ...and also tried the code from the page you suggested.
      Javascript is enabled in my browser.
      
      Maybe there's an issue with the template I'm using? Is there a setting in Blogger for turning Javascript on and off?

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3. 94

   eugbugposted 7 years ago

   Doesn't work on my tablet either so it's a problem with the blog not the browser on my laptop.
   Instead of the widget displaying, it just says: "more >> HubPages" with a hyperlink to my profile on  here on "more" and a hyperlink to HubPages.com on the "HubPages" text

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4. 94

   eugbugposted 7 years ago

   Update!
   
   Seems to be a template issue. The widget displays ok on another blog which uses a different template.

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5. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   I don't recommend using the HubPages widget, unless you're one of those rare people who writes about the same topic on both HubPages and your blog.
   
   That's because the widget generates links to random Hubs - and that means you'll have irrelevant links on your blog at times, which will harm your blog.
   
   Another problem is that the widget on your sidebar means you're linking several times to HubPages on every single page of your website.  If you have a lot of pages, that could be hundreds of links.  Google hates websites with multiple links to another site - it used to be a common scammer trick so it's likely to be penalised.

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   1. 94

      eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Most of my hubs are about home/garden/tools/DIY and so is the blog. However the widget does show by default the latest hubs, some of which are irrelevant. It would be nice if we could choose which 4 hubs are listed when generating and copying the widget code.
      
      "Another problem is that the widget on your sidebar means you're linking several times to HubPages on every single page of your website. "
      
      Does each blog post count as a separate page?

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Yes.
         
         Also consider what you're trying to achieve.  Do you want to drive readers FROM your blog TO your Hubs, or vice versa?   
         
         If you're providing the links (in either direction) to provide value to readers, then they are worth including - but I'd argue you'd be much better off putting those links in blog posts where they're relevant, rather than a random widget. 
         
         If you're providing links because Google will count them as backiinks, then be aware that Google counts only one or two links from the same domain and ignores the rest (unless they're excessive, in which case they'll penalise them).   And if two sites link to each other, the links cancel each other out.

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