diff --git a/src/includes/class-footnotes-loader.php b/src/includes/class-footnotes-loader.php
index bf0628c..e49b7f9 100644
--- a/src/includes/class-footnotes-loader.php
+++ b/src/includes/class-footnotes-loader.php
@@ -77,19 +77,6 @@ class Footnotes_Loader {
 		$this->filters = $this->add( $this->filters, $hook, $component, $callback, $priority, $accepted_args );
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * Initializes all Widgets of the Plugin.
-	 *
-	 * @since 1.5.0
-	 * @since 2.8.0 Moved to `Footnotes_Loader` class.
-	 */
-	public function initialize_widgets() {
-		// TODO: This probably shouldn't be necessary here.
-		require_once plugin_dir_path( dirname( __FILE__ ) ) . 'public/widget/class-footnotes-widget-reference-container.php';
-
-		register_widget( 'Footnotes_Widget_Reference_Container' );
-	}
-
 	/**
 	 * A utility function that is used to register the actions and hooks into a single
 	 * collection.
@@ -133,8 +120,6 @@ class Footnotes_Loader {
 			add_action( $hook['hook'], array( $hook['component'], $hook['callback'] ), $hook['priority'], $hook['accepted_args'] );
 		}
 
-		add_action( 'widgets_init', array( $this, 'initialize_widgets' ) );
-
 	}
 
 }
diff --git a/src/includes/class-footnotes.php b/src/includes/class-footnotes.php
index c122fb1..d3defa2 100644
--- a/src/includes/class-footnotes.php
+++ b/src/includes/class-footnotes.php
@@ -194,6 +194,8 @@ class Footnotes {
 
 		$this->loader->add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', $plugin_public, 'enqueue_styles' );
 		$this->loader->add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', $plugin_public, 'enqueue_scripts' );
+		
+		$this->loader->add_action( 'widgets_init', $plugin_public, 'register_widgets' );
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/src/public/class-footnotes-public.php b/src/public/class-footnotes-public.php
index 3d48b37..bfcb2f0 100644
--- a/src/public/class-footnotes-public.php
+++ b/src/public/class-footnotes-public.php
@@ -36,13 +36,21 @@ class Footnotes_Public {
 	 * @var      string    $version    The current version of this plugin.
 	 */
 	private $version;
+	
+	/**
+	 * The reference container widget.
+	 *
+	 * @since 2.8.0
+	 * @var Footnotes_Widget_Reference_Container $reference_container_widget The reference container widget
+	 */
+	private $reference_container_widget;
 
 	/**
-	 * The Plugin task.
+	 * The footnote parser.
 	 *
 	 * @since 1.5.0
 	 * @since 2.8.0 Moved from `Footnotes` to `Footnotes_Public` class.
-	 * @var Task $task The Plugin task.
+	 * @var Footnote_Parser $task The Plugin task.
 	 */
 	public $a_obj_task = null;
 
@@ -123,8 +131,10 @@ class Footnotes_Public {
 		require_once plugin_dir_path( dirname( __FILE__ ) ) . 'includes/class-footnotes-convert.php';
 
 		require_once plugin_dir_path( dirname( __FILE__ ) ) . 'public/class-footnotes-parser.php';
-		require_once plugin_dir_path( dirname( __FILE__ ) ) . 'public/widget/class-footnotes-widget-base.php';
+		require_once plugin_dir_path( dirname( __FILE__ ) ) . 'public/widget/class-footnotes-widget-reference-container.php';
 
+		$this->reference_container_widget = new Footnotes_Widget_Reference_Container($this->plugin_name);
+		
 		$this->a_obj_task = new Footnotes_Parser();
 	}
 
@@ -251,6 +261,15 @@ class Footnotes_Public {
 		}
 
 	}
-
+	
+	/**
+	 * Register the widget(s) for the public-facing side of the site.
+	 *
+	 * @since 1.5.0
+	 * @since 2.8.0 Moved to `Footnotes_Public` class.
+	 */
+	public function register_widgets() {
+		register_widget( $this->reference_container_widget );
+	}
 }