I found a deprecation warning for Gmail sidebar widgets that says these features will stop working soon. The notice I saw was really vague and didn’t give specific dates or explain what would happen next.
My organization relies heavily on a marketplace widget we built to handle our Google Workspace contacts since there’s a 50,000 contact limit. This tool is essential for our daily operations.
I’m trying to figure out a few things:
- Will marketplace widgets be affected by this deprecation?
- Where can I find the official timeline for when this will happen?
- What alternatives will Google provide to replace sidebar widgets?
I’m concerned because we invested significant time developing this solution and it’s critical to how we manage our contacts. Has anyone else encountered this issue or found more detailed information about the deprecation timeline?
google’s deprecation notices are so vague, right? check the workspace marketplace dev roadmap page, that’s where they share real timelines instead of those vague emails! also, joining the google workspace dev forums can be helpful too. other devs discuss these transitions. marketplace widgets will be affected, but you might have more time than usual since they’re more integrated. best to start planning your migration now, even if you have time left.
We dealt with this same transition last year for our custom Gmail integration. Yes, the deprecation affects all sidebar widgets, including marketplace ones. Google’s communication was confusing, with conflicting timelines in their notices. What worked for us was contacting Google Workspace support directly through the admin console for more accurate information than the generic emails. However, migrating to Workspace Add-ons isn’t a straightforward task; we had to completely rebuild our authentication flow and data handling. The new system performs better once completed, but it requires significant development time. It’s crucial to document everything your current widget does before starting the migration, as some features will require entirely different approaches in the new framework.
I saw that deprecation notice too and had the same worry. I dug into Google’s developer docs and found that the timeline depends on your widget type and implementation. For marketplace widgets, Google typically gives you 12-18 months to migrate. Check your Google Workspace Marketplace developer console for your app’s exact deadline. Google’s pushing everyone toward Google Workspace Add-ons, which does similar stuff but you’ll need to update your code. Start migrating early - the new framework has different security requirements and approval processes. Your contact management features should carry over, but you’ll need to update your manifest and probably tweak some UI components.