It’s no secret that a website needs to standout in order to capture attention. Of course, this isn’t the whole story with regard to success, but it’s a virtual ‘first impression’ that’s crucial to nail. However, doing so is getting tougher given the number of solutions on the market to do provide unique design elements or functionality.
Sliders were once considered a unique ‘effect’, but are now commonplace on a number of sites looking to capture visitors. It makes sense, therefore, to find ways to bolster the impact a slide has. A ‘particle effect’ is one such method, and while it’s a purely visual technique, it offers enough to stop a visitor in their tracks to see what else you offer.
In this post, we’ll look at what a particle effect is (along with some examples), and discuss why you’d want to incorporate it on your website. Finally, we’ll talk about how you can add the effect to your site using an add-on for the wildly popular Slider Revolution plugin. Let’s get started!
What a ‘Particle Effect’ Is
First things first: let’s discuss what a particle effect is. It’s essentially a highly-visual design element that reacts to your mouse movements. In this case, you’ll see a number of tiny particles appear, that may or may not be connected in some way:
In other words, it’s an animation that follows your mouse cursor. The way it works under the hood is quite complex, and you can guess as much from looking at an example or two.
Ultimately, it’s a powerful ‘marker’ for who you are as a company, and what you look to achieve. However, let’s dig into the specific benefits next.
Why You’d Want to Implement a Particle Effect On Your Website
Admittedly, these types of effects mainly offer a visual boost to your site, but that doesn’t mean they’re superfluous or otherwise without value. In fact, a particle effect can act as a visual aid in a number of ways. At a base level, you’ll likely want to use the effect to spice up your site ‘above the fold’. In other words, when a visitor browses to your website, what they see should indicate as much about your business or site as possible.
Of course, sliders, hero blocks, Call To Action (CTA) text, and other indicators provide this information, although a particle effect can offer a visual clue if your header is otherwise sparse:
For example, in the above, there’s practically no indicators for what the company does other than the background. Here, using a very subtle particle effect simply says, We are a tech company that’s modern and forward-thinking.
However, a particle effect is not just for filling in the blanks. You could also add a sense of intrigue and mystery by obscuring a background image:
In this example, there’s clearly an image the viewer needs to see, but it’s only visible by manipulating the particle effect. This could give the viewer a need to ‘discover’ more about what your site contains – handy for photographers, or those needing to build expectations for a new product or service.
Finally, depth is something many web designers look for when creating a layout and look. This is because a web page is obviously a two-dimensional medium, while ‘3D’ elements can make a page ‘pop’. Much like popular parallax elements, a particle effect can provide that sense of depth, as shown in this example:
Here, you’d be hard-pressed to realize this is a particle effect. However, the person at the ‘front’ of the page is manipulated in this way. It’s a great-looking and unique application that will clearly make your site stand out.
Overall, the main benefit is to create a unique, highly and easy customizable effect for your WordPress site without touching any code. Let’s find out how to do it!
How to Add a Particle Effect to Your Website (Using Slider Revolution)
At this point, a number of aspects are clear:
- You want your site to stand out.
- Making above-the-fold content pop is of prime importance.
- Having a ‘code-free’ way of achieving a particle effect is vital.
- You likely use a slider within your header.
Given the above, we have the solution: the Particle Effect Add-On for Slider Revolution. For the uninitiated, Slider Revolution is a leading WordPress plugin, with plenty of grunt under the hood to help achieve stellar visuals. The particle effect add-on is simply icing on the cake.
Of course, you’ll firstly need to have Slider Revolution installed. Once that’s done, you’ll want to install the particle effect add-on. As for adding the effect, rather than walk you through it, simply take a look at this video, which runs through the whole process:
You can also read through the comprehensive documentation, which gives you a five-step tutorial on adding a particle effect to your site. You’ll notice you can also create your own particle effects, meaning the technique is easily adapted according to your unique requirements!
Conclusion
Once question that can never be fully answered is: What can I do to make my website stand out? While there should be plenty of tricks up your sleeve, you may not have considered the impact adding a particle effect to your slider could make. This is easily possible using the Particle Effect Add-On for Slider Revolution.
For example, it can provide a visual clue as to what your business is about (obviously suited to tech industries), or even add a sense of intrigue by obscuring slider elements. In the latter example, the particle effect reveals the elements upon mouseover. In essence, you can capture the attention of your visitors using a subtle (or not) technique, that gives information on who you are to boot.
What uses would you consider using a particle effect for? Let us know in the comments section below!
Featured image: Hans.
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