Ptah Dunbar

This plugin adds the ability to link to specific sidebars in the widgets admin page and have them open up automatically. In addition, by default when visiting the widgets admin page, none of the sidebars are open.
<pre><a href="<?php echo admin_url( 'widgets.php' ) .'?sidebar=aside'; ?>">Add Widgets</a></pre>
You’ll need to know the IDs of the sidebars you’d like to have opened. For multiple sidebars, simply separate them with commas.
<pre><a href="<?php echo admin_url( 'widgets.php' ) .'?sidebar=aside,body_open,before_the_loop'; ?>">Add Widgets</a></pre>
Alternatively, you can use the <code>add_widgets_link()</code> function:
<pre><?php echo waf_widgets_link( 'aside', 'Add Widgets to Aside' ); ?> <?php echo waf_widgets_link( 'aside,body_open,before_the_loop' ); ?></pre>

Widgets Admin Fix

This plugin adds the ability to link to specific sidebars in the widgets admin page and have them open up automatically.

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.

Widgets Admin Fix vs Widget Wrangler