Fallback sidebar template for themes that do not provide their own.

Source: wp-includes/theme-compat/sidebar.php
Deprecated: 3.0.0
Subpackage: Theme_Compat

Purpose

Loaded by get_sidebar() when the active theme has no sidebar.php. Outputs a widgetized sidebar with contextual archive information and navigation.

Behavior

1. Calls _deprecated_file() — deprecation notice.

2. Opens <div id="sidebar" role="complementary"> with a <ul>.

3. Dynamic sidebar check: Calls dynamic_sidebar() — if the function doesn’t exist or returns false (no widgets assigned), outputs the static fallback content below.

4. Static fallback content (inside the if block):

   a. Search form via get_search_form().

   b. Commented-out Author section — HTML comment suggesting an author bio block.

   c. Contextual archive messages — checks page type and outputs a descriptive paragraph:

   • is_404() — no message (empty block)
   • is_category() — "You are currently browsing the archives for the {category} category." via single_cat_title()
   • is_day() — "You are currently browsing the {site} blog archives for the day {date}." Date formatted with __( 'l, F jS, Y' )
   • is_month() — "…archives for {month}." Date formatted with __( 'F, Y' )
   • is_year() — "…archives for the year {year}." via get_the_time( 'Y' )
   • is_search() — "You have searched the {site} blog archives for ‘{query}’." via get_search_query()
   • is_paged() (via $_GET['paged']) — "You are currently browsing the {site} blog archives."

5. Navigation <ul role="navigation">:

   • Pages via wp_list_pages() with title "Pages"
   • Archives (monthly) via wp_get_archives( array( 'type' => 'monthly' ) )
   • Categories via wp_list_categories() with show_count => 1

6. Home/Page-specific content (when is_home() or is_page()):

   • Bookmarks via wp_list_bookmarks()

7. Closes the sidebar divs.

Functions Called

Variables Referenced