Wordpress.observer editorial team
Wordpress.observer editorial team

How to Create a Slider for WordPress (Top 5 Plugins)?

How to Create a Slider for WordPress (Top 5 Plugins)?

A slider is one of those elements that you see on almost every site. They are easy to implement, and they almost always look great if you use compelling images. In addition, you can do funny things using the WordPress slider, for example, add transition effects to it.

However, sliders are not WordPress features, so you will need plugins to add them. In this article, we will teach you how to do this in just three steps:

 

  • Install the WordPress slider and add the media you want to use.
  • Customize your slider for WordPress.
  • Place the new slider where you want it to appear.

Once this is done, we will also introduce you to some of the best WordPress slider plugins so you know what options you have. Let’s get to this!

 

Why do you need a slider for WordPress?

Sliders are simple features, but if you choose the right images, they can look amazing.

The slider (or carousel for WordPress) is actually a pretty simple feature. A slider is a set of images that you rotate using buttons or waiting for an automatic transition. In other words, this is a slide show of images.

However, with the Slider for WordPress you can do much more. You can also add fun transition effects to it, change its text, create unique buttons and much more. In short, there are many ways to go from a boring, ordinary slider to something that really makes your web page stand out.

As to when it makes sense to use sliders, it depends on your website and goals. Many sites use the so-called “hero” sliders, which are placed at the top of the web page as an alternative header. You can see an example in action at the beginning of this section.

In addition to such sliders, you can also post customer reviews, for example like this:

Ultimately, sliders are a great addition to almost any website. However, they are best used for practical purposes, such as showing a large number of images in a small space, and not just as a decoration. They also add a bit of interactivity to your site, which is a great way to increase user engagement.

How to create a slider for WordPress (in 3 steps)

In the next few sections, we will tell you how to create a slider for WordPress using Master Slider. We chose this plugin because it is easy to use, offers many interesting features and allows you to set as many sliders as you want.

After that, we will introduce you to some WordPress carousel plugins that you can use, and talk more about Master Slider itself. In the meantime, install Master Slider to start!

Step 1: customize your WordPress slider and add the media you want to use

Once you activate the Master Slider plugin, you will find the new Master Slider tab in your panel. There you will see a list of all your WordPress sliders (which should be empty right now). Go ahead and click the Create New slider button:

The plugin will ask you what type of slider you want to install. You can choose one of eight options, including horizontal sliders with and without thumbnails:

In this guide, we will set up a simple custom slider so you can see how the whole process works. So select this option and press the CREATE button.

Then the plugin will send you to the SLIDES tab of your new item. Here you can add all the images that you want to include in your slider using the WordPress Media Uploader or select existing images from your library:

After adding a few photos, the SLIDES tab should look something like this:

Your images are ready to go. Keep this tab open and continue to the next step.

 

Step 2: Customize Your WordPress Slider

Then you can customize how the WordPress slider works. To do this, go to the Background section of the SLIDES tab. For each of your slides, you can customize a unique background using the selected image, as well as any colors and text that you like:

Right now, we’ll set up a simple slider for WordPress using all the images we upload. If you scroll down, you will see how each image will be displayed on the slider. There is also a Preview button that you can select to see how your WordPress slider is formed:

When you are done here, you need to go to the SLIDER CONTROLS tab. There you can choose what type of controls your slider will use. The default setting is called Arrows, and you can probably guess how they look:

Of course, you can choose any control scheme of your choice. Then you need to go to the SLIDER SETTINGS tab, where you can further customize your slider for WordPress.

For example, you will find options that allow you to adjust the width and height of the slider. You can specify a name that appears in the Master Slider tab:

If you scroll a little further, you can also add simple transition effects to the slider. Keep in mind that the free version of Master Slider includes only two effects: Normal and Fade. We recommend the first option, as it offers a neat transition for your WordPress slider:

Finally, you can also play with the skins by scrolling down to the Appearance section. These are sliders templates that allow you to change its appearance.

So far, we have shown the default cover in our examples, but there are other great options you can play with. You can even add custom CSS to WordPress sliders if you like such things:

Having finished setting the slider style for WordPress, click on the Save Changes button and go to the last step.

Step 3: Place the new slider where you want it to appear

Your WordPress slider is now ready, so all you have to do is post it on your website. This process is simple, as the Master Slider plugin generates a shortcode for each slider you create.

To find these shortcodes, go to the Master Slider tab on the toolbar and look under the Shortcode column:

Copy the shortcode for the slider that you want to place on your site, and then open the page or post editor where you want to place it. Just paste the shortcode where you want your WordPress slider to appear, as in the example below:

Copy the shortcode for the slider that you want to place on your site, and then open the page or post editor where you want to place it. Just paste the shortcode where you want your WordPress slider to appear, as in the example below:

If you check your page, in the interface it should look something like this:

Remember that you can create as many sliders as you want using the Master Slider plugin. You can even delete the ones you no longer want to use in the Master Slider tab by clicking the Delete button next to any of them:

Now you can start creating the best Slider for WordPress for your site! However, before we finish, let’s look at a few alternative plugin options.

5 Best WordPress Slider Plugin

We have already seen one of the best WordPress slider plugins in action. However, we have not yet had the opportunity to introduce you to all its functions. Let’s do it now and then show you some other best solutions that you can use if Master Slider is not to your liking.

 

 

  • Master slider

 

You are already familiar with Master Slider, so let’s go straight to what you may not know about the plugin. Along with the ability to create Slider for WordPress, this plugin also provides full responsiveness. It works with touch navigation, so it is ideal for mobile websites and is designed to work with search engines.

Key Features:

  • Create as many sliders as you want.
  • Add sliders to your pages in WordPress using shortcodes.
  • Customize your sliders style and transition effects.
  • Make sure your sliders are fully responsive, without any extra tweaking.
  • Optimize the content of your sliders for search engines.

Price: You can try the free version of Master Slider or choose the full premium version.

 

 

  • Smart slider 3

 

Smart Slider 3 offers many of the same features as the Master Slider. However, it also has a live drag-and-drop editor that you can use to create sliders. If you are the kind of person who likes to customize the elements of your site using the page builder, and not lists of settings, this plugin can be a great option.

In addition to this feature, Smart Slider 3 also ensures that your default sliders are ready to use even without additional settings. In addition, it includes several templates that you can use to quickly configure engines.

Key Features:

  • Create Slider for WordPress using the drag-and-drop editor.
  • Use third-party page builders such as Divi and Beaver Builder with the plugin.
  • Set the default sliders.
  • Select one of several templates to quickly launch sliders.
  • Add a few fonts to the content of your slides.

Price: Smart Slider 3 offers a free basic version, as well as several paid levels.

 

 

  • MetaSlider

 

As for WordPress slider plugins, little is as popular as MetaSlider. At the time of publication of this article, which has nearly 1,000,000 active installations, it is at the top of the plug-in food chain.

While MetaSlider does not have a smooth interface like other plugins that we have reviewed so far, it wins when it comes to ease of use. It’s easy to add slides, as well as rearrange, add text and even optimize their metadata. With other plugins, all this work may take some time, but MetaSlider simplifies the work thanks to a simple and intuitive interface.

Key Features:

  • Install multiple WordPress sliders.
  • Quickly add slides and reorder them.
  • Add text to your slides and do search engine optimization (SEO).
  • Customize the transition effects of your sliders.
  • Add sliders to any of your pages using shortcodes.

Price: MetaSlider is free in the WordPress plugin catalog, or you can get a premium license with several additional features.

 

 

  • Slider by WD

 

If you are the kind of person who likes to customize every little thing on your website, then Slider by WD might be right for you. It has many features that set it apart from other slider plugins, such as multi-slide support, responsive design, and more.

Where the plugin is really good is how many settings you can make for each of your slides. For example, you can play with their sizes, colors and transition effects. You can even import and export sliders to copy them from one site to another. Finally, the plugin includes the ability to watermark your images, which may come in handy if you need to protect the original work.

Key Features:

  • Install WordPress Mobile Sliders.
  • Get access to a wide range of settings for your sliders.
  • Place a watermark on your slides to protect them from theft.
  • Import and export sliders so you can copy them from one site to another.

Price: The free version of Slider WD is a reliable tool, although you can also upgrade to a premium license.

 

  • Slide anything

 

So far, all the plugins that we talked about are mainly focused on images. However, as we mentioned earlier, you can also use WordPress sliders for other purposes. You can show customer reviews and more.

The Slide Anything plugin allows you to install sliders using almost any type of content you want. Along with images and text, it also allows you to use HTML and even shortcodes that can create fun combinations. In addition, this plugin includes some fun features, such as infinite scrolling (so your slider loops). Also in this plugin there is a whole collection of cool transition effects and much more.

Key Features:

  • Set the sliders using any type of content you want.
  • Choose from several transition effects for your slides.
  • Use shortcodes in your sliders.

Price: You can use Slide Anything Pro for free or get access to several additional features (for example, pop-ups) in the premium version.

 

Conclusion

There is a reason why sliders are so popular. All you have to do is select a few images, add a transition effect or two, and possibly include some text, and you have an element that looks great anywhere on your site (especially as a title). With WordPress, you can easily customize the slider using your favorite plugin. We are not indifferent to Master Slider because of its richness of functions, but there are many other excellent options.

Already have WordPress slider customization experience? Tell us about him in the comments section below!

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