Jonathan Daggerhart

As of version 2.3, Widget Wrangler requires PHP 5.3 or higher
Widget Wrangler is a plugin for WordPress that gives administrators a clean interface for managing widgets on a page by page basis. On each page, you can control what widgets appear where.
Widget Wrangler provides the following features:
<ul>
<li>Widgets as a post type</li>
<li>PHP in widgets</li>
<li>Custom Widget templates</li>
<li>Control Widget visibility on any page (or post type)</li>
<li>Control Widget visibility globally (Display Logic)</li>
<li>Alter WordPress Sidebar HTML</li>
<li>Shortcodes for Widgets</li>
<li>Compatible with almost any existing WordPress Widget</li>
<li>Hide Widget Titles</li>
<li>Automatic Theme Setup</li>
</ul>
<h4>Widget Wrangler Setup Screencast</h4>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW2NgtwUuHE

Widget Wrangler

I currently use this plugin on over 100 sites. I have been using Widget Wrangler since 2014 and have found it invaluable. I use it to display specific widgets in a custom order in the sidebar, footer area, and custom featured content areas. WW allows me to customize widgets on a per page basis and create a default list of widgets to display when creating a new post/page. It has tremendously reduced the amount of time it takes to change / edit widgets on a page without touching code. It's an awesome plugin!

-Steven

Great Plugin For Managing Widgets

A plugin for managing the display of widgets on a page by page basis. Using widgets as a post type.

Matthew Muro

Restrict Categories is a plugin that allows you to select which categories users can view, add, and edit in the Posts edit screen.
This plugin allows you to restrict access based on the user role AND username.

Restrict Categories

Restrict the categories that users can view, add, and edit in the admin panel.

Widget Wrangler vs Restrict Categories