Meta Slider is one of the most popular slider plugins for WordPress, and it has over 600,000 active installs. It has been in the WordPress community since 2020 and is very well known as a website slider plugin. In this article, we will see why you might need to consider another slider plugin and what the Best MetaSlider Alternative is.
What are the Reasons to Consider an Alternative for MetaSlider?
Have you ever found yourself working on a really old computer, and you look around and everyone else is using powerful computers and super modern laptops with cool features, and you wonder if it’s time to upgrade your tools? That’s exactly the feeling you get if you’ve worked with WordPress Meta Slider plugin. Everything about this plugin is simple and old-fashioned. Even if you like your tools to be simple and straightforward, MetaSlider is still an old and limited option for creating an image slider for your website.
Slider Types
With MetaSlider you have 3 options to start with:
- Image slideshow
- Carousel slideshow
- Carousel slideshow with captions
Basically, all the MetaSlider outputs fall into two categories: simple image sliders, and carousels. And all the different slider modes are just these two categories with minor changes.
General Options
MetaSlider gives you a limited number of options in a sidebar when you’re adding slides. The total number of options is under 50, and they’re pretty basic. There’s not a clear way to organize these options, and you can’t do much with them. You’ll find things like width and height, showing or hiding navigation arrows, turning autoplay on or off, and other simple stuff. And there aren’t different slider layouts, like full-width, full-screen, or boxed. Plus, there’s no way to categorize the options; everything the slider lets you do is just there on the page.
Editor
There’s no advanced editor here. You get three basic sections: a top bar with buttons for adding slides, previewing, duplicating, or saving, a ‘New Slide Show’ area for adding slides, and a sidebar with general options. These general options, as mentioned earlier, cover all the overall slider settings. When you click ‘Add Slide,’ the WordPress Media Library opens. MetaSlider gives you a few options for what to add, including Image, Video, Post Feed (which is for creating dynamic sliders), and lastly, Layer Slide.
If you pick the Layer Slider option, you can edit that slide in what’s called a Layer Editor.
When you open the Layer Editor, the only thing this feature adds to your slide is the ability to put pictures or text next to each other as layers. And for that, you get very basic options, and the process is confusing. For example, to add anything, you have to add an empty layer first, then add the picture or text you want inside that layer.
This is not a modern WordPress slider editor. It offers limited features to the user, and in practice, it gives the user only very basic options for controlling the display and behavior of the slider.
Elements
You won’t find elements here. This is a very simple plugin, and it gives you basic tools to make the most straightforward kind of slider. Since there’s no editor, and no real ‘element’ options to add to your slide, you can forget about making fancy sliders with advanced features like buttons, shapes, text, complex layered combinations, and so on.
Responsive Design
MetaSlider doesn’t have responsive design options. And there’s a reason for that. What you get from MetaSlider is a simple image slider. There aren’t layers or different elements in the slides. So, responsive design doesn’t really mean anything. Basically, the slider just gets smaller on smaller screens.
Animations and Transitions
MetaSlider gives you some animation and transition options in two places.
First, in the general slide settings under “Transition Effect,” you get two choices: Slide and Fade. Second, when working with Layer Slides, you can pick a pre-set entrance animation for each layer.
But that’s it. There are no advanced or modern visual effects, and you can’t even change the parameters of the options you do have.
Templates
MetaSlider doesn’t have ready-made templates for users. There’s not much more to explain in this section. It only has a ‘Theme Editor’ section. This section lets you save a specific set of general slider settings. You can then use those saved settings when creating future sliders.
Pricing
When you look at the price of MetaSlider for a website, you realize that it has a very low purchase value given the features and capabilities you’re supposed to get. You have to pay $39.50 for a one-year MetaSlider license.
Depicter, The Best MetaSlider Alternative
Depicter is modern, up-to-date, powerful and versatile in every way, from its dashboard to its UI and the end-to-end process that guides you through creating a slider.
There are many reasons why Depicter is a better option than MetaSlider. To start, let’s look at each of the sections mentioned for MetaSlider and see how Depicter handles them.
Slider Types
Depicter gives you different options for creating sliders, including:
- Slider
- AI Slider
- Carousel
- Hero Section
Each of these options has different structures, layouts, and general settings for how they appear, and they’re divided into various subcategories. And, with the variety of settings each option provides, you could say Depicter’s output is more than what you initially see when choosing.
General Options
Depicter gives you control over all parts of a slider. To do this, it puts all the options into categories in its own panel, and for each subcategory, it also includes related general and detailed options.
In the end, by combining all of these, Depicter gives you complete control over all parts of a slider.
Editor
Depicter’s editor is designed for visual control. To begin, it uses a complete drag-and-drop system. This level of drag-and-drop functionality is not always found in even widely used, current WordPress page builders. This allows you to freely resize any element and position it exactly where you need it. Depicter also provides tools and features to use various layouts for the elements within the slider. These include familiar layouts like Grid and Flex, as well as the ability to group elements, snapping guides for precise element movement, and other helpful tools.
You also have access to the Version History feature. That’s correct. Depicter lets you revert to previously saved versions of your slider. So, you don’t have to worry about losing changes or needing to return to earlier versions of your slider. With a single click, you can restore a previously saved version.
Elements
You can add anything you want to your slider as a layer using Depicter. From the simplest layers like images, videos, and text, to buttons, shapes, icons, navigation controls, and timelines. And, all of these come in various shapes, sizes, and forms. Depicter also lets you use more advanced layers, such as:
- Masks
- Stories Progress Bars
- Slideshow Play/Pause
- Scroll Down Indicators
- Lottie Animations
- Shortcodes
- Coupon Boxes
- Forms
- Number Timers
- Before After Comparisons
So, you have a complete set of everything you need to build sliders, from the simplest to the most advanced, with unique features.
Responsive Design
Depicter’s approach to responsiveness allows you to create distinct design variations tailored to each specific screen size. This means you have the flexibility to determine precisely which elements are visible on each device, and you can also control their behavior. For instance, you can specify whether elements should resize automatically to fit the screen or maintain a fixed position.
Furthermore, you’re not limited to just element visibility and behavior; you can also hide entire slides or modify aspects like colors, all on a screen-size-specific basis. In addition, Depicter provides control over slide backgrounds and how those backgrounds fill the available space, giving you the ability to customize these aspects independently for each screen size.
Animations and Transitions
Depicter provides a comprehensive suite of animation and transition features, enabling users to create visually engaging sliders. Users can apply animations to individual elements, including fade-ins, scaling, and custom transformations, with granular control over timing and easing. Advanced features like Lottie animations and masks offer further creative possibilities.
For slide transitions, Depicter provides customizable effects, adjustable direction, and background animations, including parallax effects that interact with mouse movement or page scrolling. The visual editor simplifies the process of creating and managing these animations and transitions, offering a high degree of customization and a wide variety of options to suit diverse design needs.
Templates
Ready-made templates are useful for speeding up development, bypassing the design phase, and simply making things easier for the user. MetaSlider lacks this feature; it does not provide templates.
In contrast, Depicter offers a collection of over 550, including free slider templates. These are high-quality WordPress slider templates, organized into various categories to suit different purposes and occasions. Furthermore, despite the extensive variety and large number of templates already available, Depicter consistently updates this collection. This ensures users have access to up-to-date designs that reflect current trends and seasonal events.
Depicter Unique Features
So, what does Depicter have that MetaSlider doesn’t? Here are some of Depicter’s unique features:
- It has an AI Slider that makes slider creation faster by generating content.
- It includes a popup builder, distinct from its sliders, with its own options.
- You can build notification bars, too, with their own specific tools.
- Wonder how to grow your email list? Depicter allows you to generate leads by integrating forms into sliders, popups, and notification bars.
Pricing
For $39 per year, you can get Depicter Pro for one website. This includes access to all pro features, and the range of visual tools makes it a worthwhile purchase.
Conclusion
In summary, while MetaSlider remains a popular choice for creating a website slider, its basic functionality limits its potential in today’s web design landscape. For a truly modern and feature-rich experience, Depicter stands out as the best MetaSlider alternative. Its drag-and-drop editor, diverse elements, strong responsiveness, extensive animations, and vast template library provide a significant upgrade. Depicter’s unique features, such as AI-powered sliders and integrated lead generation, further solidify its position. With a comparable price point, Depicter delivers greater value, empowering users to create sophisticated sliders. If you’re looking for a powerful and versatile replacement for MetaSlider, Depicter is the clear choice.
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