Web Development: How To Create an Interactive Slider With the LayerSlider Plugin for WordPress

How To Create an Interactive Slider With the LayerSlider Plugin for WordPress

Modern websites have to be visually appealing in order to draw in a retain an audience. Whether you are running a business or just using your site as a blog, you will need to include enticing visual content to your audience.

Simply throwing your images into your website pages is not enough. People are now more accustomed to viewing images and videos in a more structured and attractive way. This is where the WordPress slider plugins come in.

Sliders are used to display content in a slideshow format. They allow you to create and customize your own slides and place them anywhere on your website.

There are many WordPress Sliders on the market right now, but few can match the comprehensive and easy to use plugin, Layer Slider. With this WordPress slider plugin, Layer Slider, you will be able to show images, slideshows, and galleries with visually appealing effects. The drag and drop visual editor makes this plugin easy to use with no coding or technical skills required. In this article, I will go over how to create an interactive slider with the Layer Slider plugin for WordPress.

What We Will Be Building

We will be creating a slide show gallery with the Layer Slider plugin to be displayed on a webpage. In our example, we are going to be creating this slider for the website of a gym. Since the layer slider makes the images and videos the center of attention on webpages, the slider is going to serve as an advertisement to draw people into joining the gym. The slider will contain three different photos of the gym and the first photo is going to have a call to action button that will take the user to the gym sign up page. To make the layer slider the center of attention on our webpage, we are going to make the slider full width, so the user will immediately notice it.

Creating a Slider

Once you have installed the Layer Slider plugin, head on over to Wordpress Dashboard > Layer Slider WP > Sliders. You will then be taken to the slider manager page where you can view all your existing sliders, import sliders, and create a new slider.

To create a new slider click the add new slider button with a plus (+) sign. You will then be asked to name your slider. Since we are going to be using this slider to be and advertisement on our gym website, we are going to name our slider, "Gym Ad".

After you have named your slider, click the Add Slider button. You have now created your first slider.

Adjusting the Slider Settings

After we have created our slider, we are now going to adjust the settings of the slider. The default layout and mobile settings of a responsive layout will suit our needs here so we won't need to adjust them. We will, however, want to adjust a slideshow setting.

Click on the slideshow menu option and find the pause on hover section under slideshow behavior. Currently, when a user pauses their cursor over the slideshow, the slideshow will pause. We do not want the slideshow to pause here so from the drop-down menu, select Do Nothing.

Next, we are going to head on over to the Navigation Area settings. In the Slideshow Timers section, we are going to click on the show bar timer option. We want to show this timer so the viewer can see the progression of the slideshow. The last setting we are going to adjust is in the Appearance. We would like to change the current skin to one that will fit better with our website design. Click on the drop-down menu next to skin and choose v5. You can view how to adjust the settings described above in the video below.

Creating the Slides

Now that we have changed around the settings of the slider, it is time to add the actual slides. At the top of the Layer Slider editor, click Slides. You will be brought to the slide editor. In this example, we are going to create three different slides and the first slide will contain a button.

By default, our first slide is already loaded up. We can now begin editing the first slide. Layer slider makes use of layers to add content to your slides. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and on the left-hand side, you will see a section to add in these layers. Click Add New > Image. We will then be taken to the WordPress Media library where we are going to choose the picture of two people working out.

Our image will now present in the preview section of the slide editor. As mentioned, we would like to add a button to this first slide to entice viewers to join the gym. To add this button, scroll back down to the bottom left of the editor and click Add New > Button. The button will now be displayed in the preview.

We are now going to change the text on the button and the link that will open when the button is clicked. To change the text, find the content tab in the layer editor. In the field that has the text "Button Label" we can change the text of the button. We are going to change the text to say "Join Now." To change the link, click on the tab called Link & Attributes in the layer editor. In the Enter URL field, we are going to type in samsgym.com/join.

Next, we need to reposition the button to be more in the center of the image. Simply drag over the button with your mouse and set the button to the center.

We are now going to add one more slide. At the top of the slide editor, click the Add New button. This will create a new slide. We are going to scroll back down to the bottom of the page editor and click Add New > Image. We will now add our second image from the media library. Once we have added in this second image, it is now time to add the slider to our website. To view the steps outlined above, watch the video demo below.

Adding Layer Slider to your Website

The Layer Slider plugin uses shortcodes to add the slider to your site. To receive the specific shortcode for the slider you created, you must first save all the changes you made at the bottom of the slides page. You will see a Save Changes button there that you will click.

After you have saved your slider, you will see a Use Shortcode section next to the Save Changes button. Copy this shortcode to your clipboard and head on over to the WordPress page or post that you want the slider on. Then insert the shortcode into the text area of your website.

That is it! You have added the slider to your website and are now ready to show your audience this slider. View how to add the slider to your website in the video below.

Getting the Most Out of the Layer Slider Plugin

In this tutorial, we just scratched the surface of what this powerful plugin can do. This feature-rich plugin has many functions that can be used to enhance the user experience on your website. Here are of few of the most notable features of this plugin that can be added to your layer slider.

Transitions: The transitions in your layer slider can add a great deal of interest to your slideshow and can keep your viewers interested in the images that you present. Layer Slider offers four different types of transitions: 2D, 3D, custom 2D & 3D, and special effects. The type of effects you use will depend on the content you are trying to present and exactly what page it is on.
Layering Your Slides: It says it in the plugins name. This gallery slider plugin was meant for customization. Layering is one of the best ways to create an interactive slider that your audience will find compelling. Layer Slider gives you the option to add images, video, links, HTML, text, and buttons to a single slide on your slider. With a little bit of creativity and designing, you can create a stunning and interactive slider that features a combination of the features the plugin offers that fits your website's pages.

Now that you have an idea of how to build a layer slider and a glimpse into its most notable features, you can see that this plugin really is a powerhouse. Just because you know how to create an eye-catching slider for your website does not mean your website's viewers are going to see it and interact with it. You have to know where to place the layer slider in order for it to gain the most attention possible. Here is a list of few areas of your website that would benefit from having a layer slider on it.

Homepage: Slideshows perform very well on a website's homepage. Placing your slide show on the top of the homepage ensures that your website viewers will view it. With the layering options that you have available to you, you can create a slide show for your homepage that invites your viewers to view more of your website.
Product Page: If you are selling a product, images and videos are a must. Highlighting your products in an interactive slide show will give your audience a reason to explore your product further. Again, place the layer slider towards the top of the page to increase the chances that the user will see it and interact with it.

Conclusion

Slider plugins are an absolute must-have on your website if you are going to draw in and retain an audience. The Layer Slider WordPress plugin will allow you to create a visually appealing slideshow on your website that your website visitors will love.

By applying the steps outlined in the article above you learn how to easily create a slideshow using Layer Slider. To give this plugin a try, head over to CodeCanyon and check out the live preview of the Layer Slider plugin. And while you're here, check out some of the other great WordPress plugins available from CodeCanyon.

Web Development

Monday, September 30, 2019