10 jQuery Plugins for 2012

Feb 16, 2012 by Simon Staton

jQuery is a powerful and useful javascript api used by millions of developers worldwide and with the thousands of plugins and scripts available you can see why. With the rapid advancement of responsive design and mobile interactivity it is now becoming standard to turn to tools such as jQuery to not only decrease time spent on your developments but also make things run smoother. I can see a lot of developers looking to expand their tool set and expertise in the next year so I have gone over my 10 favourite jQuery plugins for you to look at and experiment with.

 

 

 

Slides Js

Slides is a fundamental footstep for any web developers jQuery slider, this is a great and simplistic plugin that can be easily modified to meet your own criteria, create Simplistic, Elegant and User-Friendly slideshows in a matter of minutes.

Demo – Download

 

 

Drag Scroller

Drag Scroller is ideal for mobile and device based web development, this great plugin can revolutionise basic scrolling functionality of a website into a drag and drop based navigation system for touch screen devices.

Demo – Download

 

 

Cloud Zoom

Cloud Zoom is personally my favourite image zoom plugin currently available for jQuery, compared to other industry favourites such as Magic Zoom and jQZoom, Cloud zoom offers great browser compatibility and simple integration. Featuring a number of different display options and minified script files this plugin is a great way of displaying a larger image

Demo – Download

 

 

Fit Text

Fit Text is a great addition to any website looking to target responsive design, this unique plugin allows you to create custom font sizes based on a devices screen resolution making it an ideal solution for responsive headlines.

Demo – Download

 

 

Apple Search Suggestions

Combining User Experience with Beautiful Design Apple Search Suggestions uses MySQL and PHP combined with jQuery and Ajax to create a simplistic and effective search suggestions plugin.

Demo – Download

 

 

Isotope

Isotope is a flexible and unique jQuery filtering plugin used to filter your content with multiple intelligent and dynamic layouts. Hide and Reveal item elements easily with jQuery selectors as well as Sort your content into categories and sections.

Demo – Download

 

 

Lean Modal

Lean Modal is a great user friendly plugin used for dialog boxes and custom forms, with complete CSS customisation this is a great way to liven up your outdated forms and pop up content.

Demo – Download

 

 

Craft Map

Craft Map is a truely revolutionary plugin that can be rebuilt and developed to create a number of different functionalities. With a minified file size of only 7KB this Google Maps like draggable plugin can be used to create a drag and drop interface from any image. Craft Map can add mark-ups, display html content and even remember your last position on the map, Display captions buttons and more.

Demo – Download

 

 

Shutter Folio

Quite possibly the simplest plugin on the list Shutter Folio is an effective image transition animation which can be used in slideshows or image rotations. Using jQuery combined with CSS and HTML this is a highly simplistic plugin that can be used in your own web developments.

Demo – Download

 

 

Motion CAPTCHA

This is defiantly my favourite jQuery plugin on the list and I can see it one day eliminating time consuming letter based CAPTCHA forms. Although Motion CAPTCHA is still in early stages of development it is taking something that is frustrating at times and simplifying it.

Demo – Download

 

Using plugins such as these it is now much faster and simpler to add bite sized developments to your web projects with a few minutes of playing around. If you know of any jQuery plugins that you think should have made the list or perhaps a plug-in that has made your life much simpler please let me and others know in the comments bellow.