Gadget vs. Widget

Main Difference

There are many trends on the internet which are followed by people without knowing much about them. Some of them are very useful for the ones who have a keen interest in the world of internet and have websites of other blogs to promote their stuff, similarly, others just use the internet for the sake of fun and to use advanced applications in order to enjoy the new virtual world. There are some words which have been widely used while using the internet but do not have a proper meaning or understanding of what they actually are, two similar terms which are alike in this regard but different from each other are gadget and widget. In the past, these were considered the same things which just had different names but in the modern world there are few distinctions between them and are now explained properly for the ease of others. The main dissimilarity between these two terms is that a widget is a writeable code which is written by any user and can be used on a website or blog in order to add some feature. Gadget, on the other hand, is different in a way that it is similar to a widget but the coding and all the branding is done by the company and the feature can just be added on the website. So it can be concluded that a widget is a feature by anyone while a gadget is a feature by a copyrighted company. Another difference between the two terms is that a widget is just a code which is preset while a gadget is a feature which can be installed even on your operating system. A widget is exclusively for websites and blogs while a gadget is for all the forms including computers and tablets. The best example of a widget is the twitter widgets which are available in different forms and display your tweets, retweets, and followers depending on which option you choose. The best example of a gadget is the windows desktop items which include sticky notes and calculator, that are displayed on your operating systems. You have to copy the code and place it on the website when it comes to widget while the gadget is automatically added once you choose the option from the homepage. There are many other differences between the two types which will be explained later in detail while some explanation of both these types of internet accessories is given in the next two paragraphs.

Difference Between Gadget and Widget

Comparison Chart

Comparison Table

Definition of Gadget

There is no proper definition of a gadget but basically, it is the add-on which is available in the solid form for the users to add on their website, blogs or even on their tablets and computers. This is the form of a widget in which there is no coding available and the user just has to select the type of gadget they want and add it on their device or forum. It is considered more advanced than a normal gadget since there can be many options available in one gadget while all the material is copyrighted. These are also available in different sizes and can be customized accordingly while the size also fits the space according to the space available. The best example of a gadget is the sticky notes on our desktops which are just selected from a list of other gadgets and can be added easily without going through the trouble of adding the code. They are simple to use since most of the options are already available for the user and they do not have to look for different features at different places. Most websites use this as an opportunity to promote their name.

Definition of Widget

It is the simplest form of features which can be added on your websites and blogs. In this case, the programmer writes a code which takes the form of a short application which is minimal features. These are added in the HTML text space where, once they are saved, they take the form of a short gadget. They have been used for a long time in different fields of the internet since it gives the opportunity to the user to enhance their product and give options to users so that they do not have to visit the website every time to be updated. The one drawback which exists is that there are fewer features which can be added in one code, and different widgets are required to be added in different forms so that all the features can be controlled. They are mostly used for websites and do not have much use in the operating systems since coding there is already done by the manufacturer who does not allow the features to be changed by any other person to keep the copyrights with them. The code can be added anywhere from the sidebars to the bottom bars and even as headers.

Conclusion

All in all, it can be said that the three terms that have been explained above are very different from each other in the way they are used, and their origins. This article has therefore given a proper explanation of the terms so that people are able to use them properly.