Okay, so there are plenty of roundups of great jQuery plugins out there, but I’ve decided to put together a list of some of my favorite. I’ve compiled this list because I use most of the plugins on a daily basis, and I have found each and every one of them to be a real help when it comes to creating fancy effects using jQuery. So enjoy!
Hover Intent
So you’re trying to create some cool effect that takes place when a user hovers over something, but you don’t want to go ahead with that effect unless you know the user expressly wants to hover over that item. You could set up some variables and hope for the best, or you could use this fantastic plugin. Hover Intent is build upon jQuery’s native .hover() function, but uses some crafty tricks to make sure that your website is fully aware of the user’s hover intentions. Find out more here.
The Anything Slider
Now there are some good sliders out there, but this one is one of the best. It combines simplicity with ease of use, and extensibility. Now only are you not restricted to using only images in your cool effect, you can use text, pictures, links, and any other HTML element! It’s also feature packed with the ability to use hash-tags to navigate between slides, and total control over animation and pause time. Find out more here.
Fancybox
Yep, it’s a light-box. And a seriously good one at that! The reason I like this plugin so much is because of the customization that’s allowed – the list of options just goes on and on, and allows you to change everything to have the content appears to what sort of overlay should be placed on top of the rest of the content. Fancybox is also really easy to use, and looks seriously professional. Find out more here.
The Nivo Slider
Now this is another slider that I adore, for totally different reasons. Put simply, the first time I saw it in action, I was blown away by how cool it looked, and I still am! The Nivo slider uses some really clever coding (which I won’t pretend to understand 🙂 ) to apply some amazing effects to images. While it can still function as a simple image fade-in fade-out element, the real magic lies in it’s other effects, and I would highly recommend you use it if you get the chance! Find out more here.
Quicksand
This truly is a gem of a plugin – Quicksand is a plugin that allows you to sort items. I know – exciting! But when I say “sorting” I mean it in the sexiest way possible! This fantastic plugin allows you to animate the sorting and ordering of your elements on a web-page, and while this may sound mundane and aimless, I assure you, after taking a peek at the demos on their website, you will be impressed. Find out more here.
And that’s it! I hope you found this list interesting, and I really do encourage you to have a play around with all of these plugins, as I’m sure you will come to love them as much as I do! And if you know of any fantastic jQuery plugins, feel free to share them with me in the comments!