Widget Containers
Widget containers are predefined areas on storefront pages where administrators can place widgets and CMS blocks directly from the Magento admin panel. They make it possible to add banners, promotional strips and other custom content to key places on the site without any code changes or deployments.
Overview
Every Venta page is built from named layout containers. A widget assigned to a container renders in that container's position on the storefront. Starting with Venta 1.7.0 the container list in the admin panel is curated: entries that never render in the theme are hidden, so every option you can select produces visible output.
Adding a Widget to a Container
Configuration Path: Content > Widgets > Add Widget
- Choose the widget type (for a CMS block use CMS Static Block) and the Venta design theme
- Fill in the storefront properties and assign store views
- Under Layout Updates, choose where the widget appears:
- Display on selects the page type (for example All Pages, All Product Types or Anchor Categories)
- Container selects the position on the page
- Save the widget and flush the cache
The container list depends on the selected page type. Product page containers only appear when a product page type is selected, category containers only for category page types.
Available Containers
All Pages
| Container | Position on the page |
|---|---|
| Page Top | Very top of the page, above the header and announcement bar |
| Page Header Panel | Top area of the header |
| Page Header | Inside the header, below the header panel |
| Page Header Container | Inside the header, after the menu |
| Venta Mega Menu - Desktop Bar Right | Right side of the desktop menu bar |
| Venta Mega Menu - Dropdown Panels | Inside every mega menu dropdown panel |
| Venta Mega Menu - Mobile Menu Links | Inside the mobile menu drawer |
| After Page Header Top | Directly below the header, after the breadcrumbs |
| After Page Header | Below the header area, above the main content |
| Before Main Columns | Top of the main columns area |
| Main Content Top | Top of the main content column |
| Main Content Area | Main content column; on category pages the widget appears above the product toolbar |
| Main Content Container | Bottom of the content area |
| Main Content Aside | End of the main content area |
| Main Content Bottom | End of the main content area, after Main Content Aside |
| Sidebar Main | Left sidebar on two-column pages; see the note below |
| Before Page Footer | End of the content area, above the footer |
| Before Page Footer Container | Between the content and the footer |
| CMS Footer Links | Footer links area, after the links |
| Page Footer | Inside the footer, below the footer columns |
| Page Footer Container | Bottom of the footer |
| Page Bottom | Very bottom of the page, below the footer |
Sidebar Main note: this container exists only on pages with a two-column layout. In Venta those are category pages, search results and customer account pages. A widget assigned to Sidebar Main with Display on: All Pages appears below the category filters, below the search filters and under the account navigation. To target category pages only, use Display on: Anchor Categories.
Product Page
| Container | Position on the page |
|---|---|
| Product View Extra Hint | Directly below the price. Intended for payment messaging (for example Klarna or PayPal installment banners) and short promotional hints |
| Product Additional Info | End of the product information column, below the contact block |
| Before Customer Ratings | Between the product description section and the Customer Ratings section |
| After Customer Ratings | Below the reviews list |
| Review Form Fields Before | Inside the "Write a review" dialog, above the form fields. Visible only when the dialog is open |
| Product Details Top (Full Width layout only) | Around the product details section. Renders only on products whose Design > Layout is set to Product Full Width |
| Product Details Bottom (Full Width layout only) | Same as above, below the details section |
The Product View Extra Hint, Before Customer Ratings, After Customer Ratings and Product Additional Info containers were added or repositioned in Venta 1.7.0.
Category Page
| Container | Position on the page |
|---|---|
| Additional Info | Between the toolbar and the product grid |
| Sidebar Main | Directly below the category filters |
| Main Content Top | Above the product toolbar. Recommended for banners below the category description |
Behavior Notes
Widget Placement Inside a Container
A widget is always added as the last element of its container, after any theme content the container already holds. The Sort Order field on the widget form orders multiple widgets within the same container relative to each other. It cannot place a widget above the container's existing theme content.
Page Types Without a Container
If a widget targets a container that does not exist on a given page type, nothing is rendered on that page. There is no error; the widget simply has no output there.
For Developers
Container names in layout XML map to the labels above (for example page.top is After Page Header and after.body.start is Page Top). Two containers are intentionally not exposed to administrators:
category.top.infoon category pages holds the category banner, title and description. Widgets injected into it become unstyled grid items and break the desktop layout. Use Main Content Top for promotional content in that area instead.- The hidden entries and the renamed Product Details labels are managed by the
CleanWidgetContainerListplugin inMagebit_VentaTheme. Child themes can extend or reduce both lists throughdi.xmlarguments.