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.

zorgbargle

A plugin that adds “Add”, “Save”, “Restore” and “Delete” buttons to the Widgets configuration page with the following 
functionality:
<ul>
<li>Add: Adds a new named widget layout and saves the current widget layout against the new layout name.</li>
<li>Save: Saves the current widget layout against the selected layout name.</li>
<li>Restore: Restores the previously saved widget layout. If the theme name shown next to the layout name in the 
drop-down matches the current theme, widgets will be restored to the sidebar they were located in when the layout was 
saved.</li>
<li>Delete: Deletes the selected widget layout – does not modify the current layout of the widgets.</li>
</ul>
Note that the behaviour has changed from version 1 – widget layouts are not automatically restored when themes are 
switched. Layout choice is now a manual step since it is possible to save multiple widget layouts for a given theme. 
Once a theme has been activated, use the “Layouts” drop-down to select a previously saved layout that matches the 
current theme.
The reset button has been removed as it was too easy to remove all widgets with one click.
<h4>Typical Usage</h4>
This plugin is useful for trying different widget layouts, making it easy to revert back to a previous layout if the 
current layout is not working. It can also be useful when switching between themes. Different themes will offer different 
sidebar areas, and often there is not a direct mapping from one theme’s sidebars to another. This plugin can be used 
to save a widget layout for each theme. When the themes are switched, the appropriate widget layout can then be restored 
saving the time it usually takes to drag each widget from an inactive sidebar into the correct sidebar.
A typical process would be as follows:
<ol>
<li>Type your own layout name into the text field, and click “Add” to add and save the current widget layout. This name 
is now available in the “Layouts” drop-down.</li>
<li>Rearrange the widgets, move them to different sidebars, or move them into the inactive widgets box.</li>
<li>Type a new layout name, and click “Add” to add a second widget layout.</li>
<li>Select the layout name you created in step 1 from the drop-down, and click “Restore”. Your widgets will be 
repositioned to match this layout.</li>
<li>Select your layout name from step 3, and click “Restore”. Your widgets will now be repositioned to match your 
second layout.</li>
</ol>

Widget Saver

Saves the current widget layout and allows the layout to be restored at a later date.

Widget Wrangler vs Widget Saver