WordPress Fastest Sliders

Sliders, Carousels, Slideshows. Whatever you want to call them, sliders are an amazingly adaptable design tool that let you to present photos, video, and other material more effectively while conserving valuable online space.
If you have ever seen an image of a woman without makeup on a website, then 2 or 3 seconds later, the image transitions to the woman with makeup on. That is a perfect example of what a Slider does.
Whether you’re looking for an easy way to showcase a slideshow of photographs on an eCommerce or real estate website, or a bold video banner with call-to-action buttons, sliders can help you instantly capture your visitors’ attention.
At the end of the day, I have personally seen several websites that used Sliders properly and within a tasteful manner, which resulted in very successful results.
If you search on Google, you will see several articles on why you should not use a Slider. Below are some of the top reasons given and my responses to their arguments.
Users Treat Sliders Like Banner Ads
I don’t think that is true, again it depends on the website, but I have seen many examples of some very nice sliders on websites that added value, and conveyed a clear image on the nature of the product being sold, or the purpose of the website. As a matter of fact leveraging a Slider in a tasteful way, can lead to a huge uptick in conversions.
Sliders Slow Down Your Website
First thing I need to state is that not all Sliders are created equal. There are some Sliders on the market that will slow down your website. However, the Sliders we will go over in this article all have been tested to be among the fastest WordPress Sliders available on the market.
You can also improve you Sites loading speed by leveraging a CDN such as the one offered by Cloudflare.
In addition, you can also optimize your Sliders by having them load from the footer by using an optimizing tool plugin such as Hummingbird Pro. I highly recommend the Hummingbird pro plugin because it significantly improves your site’s loading speed and you can optimize not just the Slider plugin, your entire Site and theme as well.
The last thing on this topic that I would like to bring to your attention, many of the articles about loading speed of Sliders on mobile devices, where written when we all had 3G Networks. Today most people now have a 5G network that is anywhere between 10-20 times faster than 4G. To add to that, 4G networks are also 6 times faster than the old 3G networks.
Sliders displayed on Mobile websites
One of the main arguments against using Sliders is that they are not responsive. By responsive, I mean that the Slider will look great on any device whether it is viewed on a Desktop computer or a Mobile device.
Sliders on Mobile websites in the old days were not responsive. But today, that is no longer the case. All the Sliders listed in this article are all responsive sliders.
List of The Best & Fastest WordPress Sliders
1. Soliloquy
Soliloquy is a drag & drop slider plugin that’s both easy to use and offers very powerful functionality. Additionally, it is a responsive image slider. This ensures that your slideshows look fantastic on all devices (mobile, tablet, laptop, and desktop).
Soliloquy allows you to create beautiful image and video sliders for your WordPress site in minutes, the plugin is very easy to us and intuitive.
Another great feature about this plugin is that it is highly optimized for web and server performance. It was the fastest plugin that I tested among the list of fastest Slider Plugins.
The Pro version of the plugin has all of the capabilities you’ll ever need, including templates.and sliders for: PDFs, WooCommerce, featured content, carousel, Lightbox, thumbnail navigation, Instagram, image protection, and a lot more.
Partial List of additional features
Soliloquy’s Performance Test

2. Smart Slider 3
Smart slider features features a drag & drop editor that enables you to easily add, copy, and delete layers. You may construct everything from simple sliders to sophisticated carousels, blocks, and even entire pages. Additionally, you can develop entirely bespoke layouts with dynamic data by integrating content from many sources.
Smart Slider sites are responsive by default, so they display and run flawlessly on every device.
Partial List of Additional Features
Smart Slider 3 Performance Test

3. MetaSlider
MetaSlider has a beautiful, intuitive interface that will let you create stunning slideshows with ease. You can create a powerful, SEO-optimized slider, slideshow, carousel, or gallery in minutes.
MetaSlider has been designed to work seamlessly with the new Gutenberg WordPress block editor. In addition all slideshows adapt to screen size for desktop, mobile, and tablet.
Partial List of Additional Features
MetaSlider Performance Test

4. Slider Revolution 6
This resourceful WordPress plugin helps beginner-and mid-level designers impress their clients with pro-level visuals. You’ll be able to create Stunning visual elements such as sliders & carousels
Version 6 of the Slider Revolution WordPress Builder has an optimized editor with all options categorized intuitively, so you can work faster. In addition the new version offers Improved loading times
Instead of only allowing layer in/out animations, the Slider Revolution WordPress Builder has the ability to add multiple animation steps to each layer animation.
Partial List of Additional Features
Slider Revolution 6 Performance Test
