SmartUpWorld Post Slider

Description

SmartUpWorld Post Slider shows your posts as a responsive carousel of full-image cards. Paste one shortcode into any post, page, widget or template — no coding required — and adjust the look from the dashboard.

Features:

  • One shortcode — [suwps_post_slider] — works in posts, pages, widgets and PHP templates
  • Full-image cards with category badge, author, date and a Read More button
  • Every part can be switched on or off: category, author, date, Read More button, arrows, dots, autoplay and pause button
  • Settings page: show/hide each part, set the time per slide, pick the button colours, set your own Read More label
  • Shortcode attributes override the settings for a single slider
  • Responsive — 1, 2 or 3 cards depending on the space the slider has, not just the screen size
  • Filter by category, show specific posts by ID, or skip the post being viewed
  • Uses the primary category from Rank Math or Yoast SEO when one is set
  • Works with any theme: the slider’s styles are scoped to its own class names
  • Works with WebP and lazy-load plugins such as Imagify, EWWW and ShortPixel, including their <picture> tags
  • Right-to-left languages supported

Accessibility

The slider is built to meet WCAG 2.2 level AA:

  • A pause/play button whenever slides move on their own (WCAG 2.2.2)
  • Slides stop moving while the mouse is over them, as soon as a keyboard user enters the slider, and for good once a visitor uses the arrows, dots or swipes
  • For visitors who have asked their device to reduce motion, slides switch instantly instead of gliding
  • Keyboard users can tab through every card; the focused card always slides into view, with a clear focus outline
  • Labelled buttons, slide positions announced to screen readers, 24px minimum click targets
  • Default colours meet the AA contrast ratios, including text over photos

If you change the colours in the settings, keep text at a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and keep the pause button on while autoplay is on.

Performance

  • No jQuery. The carousel uses Embla Carousel: about 10 KB of JavaScript (gzipped) in total, where Owl Carousel needed 11 KB plus jQuery
  • CSS and JavaScript load only on pages that use the shortcode; scripts are deferred
  • No layout shift while the page loads: cards are laid out with CSS before the script runs
  • Images lazy-load with responsive sizes, and the next cards preload just before they slide in
  • Autoplay only runs while the slider is visible on screen
  • Add priority="true" when the slider is at the top of a page, so its first image loads first

Basic usage:

[suwps_post_slider]

With a header:

[suwps_post_slider eyebrow="From The Blog" title="Latest Insights" subtitle="Practical guides on website care, speed and security."]

For single post templates (skip current, no arrows):

[suwps_post_slider title="Related Articles" count="6" skip="current" nav="false" underline="false"]

Your own button text and colour:

[suwps_post_slider readmore_text="Lees meer" accent="#2c6e49"]

In a PHP template:

<?php echo do_shortcode( '[suwps_post_slider]' ); ?>

The Post Slider admin page lists every attribute with copy-ready examples. Full documentation: smartupworld.com/smartupworld-post-slider/

Third-party library

The carousel is powered by Embla Carousel 8.6.0 by David Jerleke, released under the MIT License. The bundled file assets/js/embla-carousel.umd.js is the unmodified build from the official npm package; the human-readable source is at github.com/davidjerleke/embla-carousel. Its license is included as assets/js/embla-carousel-LICENSE.txt.

Screenshots

Installation

  1. Upload the smartupworld-post-slider folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install it from Plugins Add New.
  2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
  3. Paste [suwps_post_slider] into any post, page, or widget.
  4. Visit Post Slider in your WordPress admin menu to choose what the cards show, set colours, and see every shortcode option.

FAQ

What shortcode do I use?

Use [suwps_post_slider] anywhere in your site. The admin Post Slider Shortcode Guide tab lists every attribute with copy-ready examples.

How do I hide the date, author or category?

Untick them under Post Slider Settings to hide them on every slider, or use date="false", author="false" or cat="false" on a single slider.

How do I change the colours?

Go to Post Slider Settings Button colours. For one slider only, use the accent attribute, for example accent="#2c6e49".

How do I change the “Read More” text?

Type your own label under Post Slider Settings, or use readmore_text="Lees meer" on a single slider. Left empty, the label is translated automatically when a translation for your language is available.

Can I filter by category?

Yes. Use category="your-category-slug" or category="14" (numeric ID). Example: [suwps_post_slider category="tech" count="6"]

How do I show specific posts?

Use the ids attribute with comma-separated post IDs: [suwps_post_slider ids="12,45,67"]. The posts appear in that order. This overrides count and category.

Does it work on single post templates?

Yes. Add skip="current" to leave out the post being viewed, ideal for a “Related Articles” section.

Does it conflict with my theme’s slider?

No. The plugin does not load Owl Carousel or jQuery and uses its own suwps- class names, so sliders from your theme or other plugins are not affected.

Can I turn autoplay off?

Yes: untick Autoplay in the settings, or use autoplay="false". With autoplay off, the pause button is not shown.

Can I make the slides change faster or slower?

Yes. Set Time per slide under Post Slider Settings, from 2 to 15 seconds (4 by default). For one slider only, use the delay attribute in seconds, for example delay="6".

Why is there a pause button?

Content that moves on its own needs a way to stop it (WCAG 2.2.2). You can hide it under Post Slider Settings, but your slider will then no longer meet that accessibility requirement while autoplay is on.

Where is the documentation?

Full documentation is at smartupworld.com/smartupworld-post-slider/. The admin Post Slider page also contains all attributes and copy-ready shortcode examples.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“SmartUpWorld Post Slider” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.1.0

  • New default design: full-image cards with category badge, author, date and a frosted Read More button.
  • New Settings tab: show or hide the category, author, date, Read More button, arrows, dots, autoplay and pause button; set the time per slide; pick the button colours; set the Read More label.
  • New shortcode attributes: cat, author, date, readmore, readmore_text, autoplay, pause, delay, loop, accent and priority.
  • Replaced Owl Carousel, which is no longer maintained and needs jQuery, with Embla Carousel 8.6. No jQuery, less JavaScript.
  • Accessibility: pause/play button, slides stop on interaction and keyboard focus, focused cards slide into view, visible focus outlines, 24px click targets, contrast-safe default colours, no sliding animation with reduced motion.
  • Performance: no layout shift while loading, deferred scripts, responsive image sizes, preloading of the next cards, autoplay only while visible, and a priority option for sliders at the top of a page.
  • The card category uses the Rank Math or Yoast SEO primary category when set, and skips “Uncategorized”.
  • Changed: layout now defaults to “fullwidth”, which fills the area the shortcode is placed in. Use layout="contained" for the previous centred 1200px width.
  • Changed: CSS classes now use the suwps- prefix. Custom CSS written for the old suw- classes needs updating.
  • Fixed: the FAQ wrongly said WordPress would remove a duplicate Owl Carousel loaded by a theme.

1.0.1

  • Renamed the shortcode tag to [suwps_post_slider] for a unique, conflict-free prefix.
  • Moved admin page CSS and JavaScript into properly enqueued files.
  • Renamed the “exclude” attribute to “skip”.

1.0.0

  • Initial release.
  • Bundled Owl Carousel 2.3.4 — no CDN dependency.
  • Shortcode attributes: eyebrow, title, subtitle, underline, count, category, ids, exclude, layout, nav, dots.
  • ARIA accessibility improvements — labelled nav buttons and dots.
  • LCP-safe eager loading on first slide image.
  • Admin documentation page with copy-ready examples and SmartUpWorld branding.