Developer FAQ

Frequent questions and answers for developers

Is Widgetbox secure?: Yes. Putting untrusted web widgets on a web page is risky, because the Javascript in the widget can read the web page and send that information back to the developer of the widget. This is called Cross Site Scripting, and it's the one of the key reasons that blog, start page and social networking systems are increasingly restricting the use of JavaScript (a key widget technology) in their systems. Widgetbox provides an iframe-based security layer around widgets that prevents XSS attacks.

How much does Widgetbox cost?: Widgetbox provides both free and subscription-based services. The core service — registering, installing, and serving a web widget is a free service.

What browsers do you support?: To browse and develop on Widgetbox, you need a modern web browser with JavaScript and Adobe Flash enabled (9 or later). We officially support Firefox 2 and 3 (Mac, Windows, Linux), Safari 2 and 3 (Mac, Windows), and Internet Explorer 6 and 7 (Windows). We do not support Internet Explorer 5 (Windows, Mac).; Because of the nature of the Web and web technologies, we suggest using a web standards compliant, modern browser that's relatively new but not beta. Currently, we would recommend Firefox 3 or Safari 3 to get the best possible experience from Widgetbox and the rest of the Web.

Do page visitors have to have Javascript to use my widget?: For users (widget subscribers) to view widgets, they must have the same sort of browser. In addition, a widget's developer might have used advanced Javascript techniques, Flash, Java applets, and so on. Widgetbox can't predict compatibility of each widget. If Javascript is not enabled, a page visitor will not see a widget or error message. No space will be taken up.

Are there limits on the types of widgets I can build?: When displaying a widget, you can do just about anything that HTML allows. But because our security model requires that most widgets be served within iframes, you don't get the automatic style and resizing that the widget would otherwise have.

I'm having trouble signing up for an account, what can I do?: If you're having trouble with our popup registration form, give it a shot here: Widgetbox Sign Up.

I'm having trouble logging in, what can I do?: If you're having trouble with our popup sign in form, give it a shot here: Widgetbox Sign In.