JQuery plugins are a popular choice in front-end development for years. They help simplify work by providing features that otherwise would have taken a lot of time to learn and implement. As the years go by, many new plugins have been made to make websites more interactive with less work involved in their development. This has made the lives of many developers easier because they can make better quality websites at a relatively faster rate compared to before. Though this isn’t the only component contributing to the cause, it is one of the major ones. Apart from that, some plugins offer features that many people wouldn’t have even thought of, this gives developers far more ideas and ways to implement new features on their website.
Among all plugins, some plugins stand out far more compare to their counterparts in their respective categories.
1. Skippr
Skippr is a jQuery plugin used for image slideshows. Just like they say, it is faster than many other slideshow plugins out there. Apart from that, it doesn’t take up much space either, making it a popular choice among developers who want to add an image slideshow without much hassle.
2. Pick-a-color
This plugin for Twitter Bootstrap helps better with picking the perfect color scheme for a website. The colors can be lightened or darkened according to preferences and also stores up to 16 colors in localStorage. It is easy to implement as it has only 4 lines of code in total.
3. Bricks.js
Bricks.js is one of the fastest masonry generator plugins available. This plugin helps the user get the layout for fixed-width elements. Its site also shows the time it takes for generating the various number of bricks, hence helping developers gain more information about it before use.
4. FocusPoint
FocusPoint uses the idea that each image has a focal point, it asks the user beforehand which section of the image shouldn’t be cropped and ensures that the selected section will always be in focus. It helps when images are viewed across various platforms, making sure it looks good across all containers.
5. CoverVid
This plugin has one simple function: it allows HTML videos to be used as a background image. This adds to the aesthetic appeal of a website.
6. Pop Menu
This jQuery pop-menu plugin gives a unique navigation menu layout to your website which works across all devices as it is responsive.
7. HMR Chat
HMR chat is a useful chat plugin that will be present in the bottom-right corner of the website. It comes along with the option to register and login, hence personalizing it for each user on the website.
8. ArtPlayer.js
For sites that wish to include videos but don’t want to use YouTube, this video player plugin will work best for them. It supports a lot of in-built features such as the ability to flip videos, use subtitles, change the speed, choose your player display mode, and much more.
9. jQuery Zoom
Instead of making users view the image in a separate tab, this plugin helps reduce the hassle by providing two types of zoom features for images on your website. With an option to zoom on hover or drag and zoom, it is useful for a wide variety of photos.
10. jQuery Knob
This plugin allows you to replace certain input elements with dials. This adds another unique feature to your website due to its unconventional nature. It accepts mouse, keyboard, and touch inputs, making it compatible with responsive websites.
11. Lettering.js
Adding typography to a website can be a little complex to many people who are new to web development, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on it. Lettering.js is a wonderful plugin for this purpose. This plugin gives you good control of your website’s web type.
12. Filtrify
If your website involves movie reviews or a feature that may be benefited by tags, filtrify is the best match for it. Filtrify is a plugin that helps with advanced tag filtering. It allows one to search for tags within tags and along with many other criteria hence proving to be very efficient in this department.
There are many jQuery plugins out there that are perfect for various needs. Although using too many of them may not be the best option, it is a good alternative to use when there is a feature you wish to add but don’t want to spend time creating one from scratch.
