Best Slider Plugin for WP – feature rich and wonderful experience

I highly, highly recommend this plugin. I’ve used a few other free slider plugins and none come close. What you get in the free version here is in many ways on par with the paid versions of others. You get configurability over horizontal left-center-right alignments, vertical alignments top-center-bottom, max-widths, paddings, margins, full control over typography and lots more styling. You can also set parameters per device type. That is, you can enable or disable layers or set paddings different on desktop, tablet or mobile. Image and background color settings include opacity so that you can optimize readability. You really should be able to produce just about any slider look and feel. Additionally, you can design a block (versus slider) where you can just build a layout for a particular section of your site.

With all the configurability in SS there is a little bit of a learning curve. But, I say take a little time and watch the startup videos. It’s worth coming up the curve.

I’ve been using the free version on several sites for a year and a half with no issues. I use the pro version on one site now too.

The pro version adds wonderful new features that can be used to add new layer types and animations. The Smart Slider people really know how to use animations and effect: in a subtle way to draw user attention to important info, not to overwhelm the user with “wow factor”. The video tutorials really show that and you can quickly come up to speed on the plugin with them.

The pro version is a one time cost, not a subscription. In my mind, that makes it an unbeatable deal.

Much thanks to the Smart Slider 3 team!