Spectral Web Services
Researching the options for weather widgets
Want a weather widget in Ghost? I tested some of the free options.
Hello! I had a client ask about weather widgets. We can integrate any weather widget into Ghost CMS, as long as it provides an embed code. (An HTML embed, not a WordPress "shortcode".)
Tip: Although these work great on websites, they aren't going to work in email. Email will need a separate solution, because email clients don't run JavaScript.
The contenders (so far)
Please welcome below a variety of free weather widgets to this Ghost blog page. No wizardry at work here. I've just pasted in their embed code. It's a good opportunity to see how they work on both phones and desktop, too.
(If you wanted the widget in a corner on your front page, you'd need a little theme customization to make that happen, but if it works below, it's probably a good candidate for embedding somewhere in the theme.)
❌Weatherwidget.io = fail
This one looks great when I preview my page, but not when I actually publish it, when it says the location is invalid. Bummer.
Weather widget below: (Yeah, I don't see anything either.)
GOLDEN WEATHERThis one requires the link to an advertisement-laden site but doesn't put ads on your site.
✔️Tomorrow.io = looks good!
The destination site looks a lot better in terms of ads. I wonder how they're making money? (TOS is long, haven't read it yet.)
❌ Weatherwidget.org = not enough locations, doesn't load anyway
This one looks great, but the locations directory is super small, and doesn't include where I am. Automatic location might be ok? Yeah, nope. Nevermind! And apparently it thinks my embed code is invalid when I stick it in an HTML card. Boo.
Weather widget below: (Yeah, I don't see anything either.)
✔️Code Ninja = not totally free, but cheap
This one has a limited free tier (with branding), but unlimited views are only $2/month.
Oops. The item below is an image, not the actual embed, because they limited my test/free account to one embed, and I wanted it over on the main widgets page.
✔️Late entry! Windy.
Thanks to Guy Starbuck for the addition to the list!
✔️Another late entry! Meteored.
I like the look of this one, but it apparently doesn't do live weather, just the daily forecast?
Thanks to Winchester News for the suggestion!
What weather widgets would you like to recommend? Use the comments to let me know!
(No affiliate links on this page, just telling you what I've tried so far.)
Hey, before you go... If your finances allow you to keep this tea-drinking ghost and the freelancer behind her supplied with our hot beverage of choice, we'd both appreciate it!
