Sidebar width, gap and divider
Appearance → Customize → Design → General → Sidebar. Three settings, all applying wherever a Sidebar left or Sidebar right layout is in use.
Sidebar width
Default 260px. Any CSS length; a bare number is treated as pixels.
260px is a deliberate size: wide enough for a search box, a short list of links and a small image, narrow enough that the content column keeps a readable measure inside a 1170px container.
Going wider costs the content column directly — at a 1170px container, a 360px sidebar leaves the content about 750px. That is still fine. A 500px sidebar is not a sidebar.
You can use any unit: 18rem, 22%, 280px. A percentage is of the container,
so it shrinks with it.
Sidebar gap
Default 3.5rem — the space between the content and the sidebar.
This is the setting that does the most for how the two columns read. Too little and the sidebar looks like an overflow of the article; too much and the page falls into two unrelated halves.
2rem— tight, works with a divider3.5rem— the default5remand up — airy; needs a wide container to not squeeze the content
The gap only applies where the two sit side by side. On narrow screens they stack, and vertical spacing takes over.
Sidebar divider
A vertical rule down the middle of that gap.
| Choice | |
|---|---|
| None (default) | No rule — what the theme has always drawn |
| Light line | A hairline in your border colour |
| Strong line | The same rule, at full strength |
The rule runs the full depth of the content area, from the header rule down to the footer — not just the height of the widgets — so it reads as a column division rather than as a box around the sidebar.
Turning it on does not narrow either column; the line sits inside the existing gap.
Pair a divider with a slightly larger gap. A rule in a 2rem gap is cramped on both sides; in a 4rem gap it looks intentional.
Related
- Container and narrow width — the total the sidebar is carved out of
- Border colour — what the divider uses
- Widget styles