As a web developer with over 15 years of experience, I‘ve seen firsthand how jQuery has grown from a handy JavaScript library into an essential tool used on over 75% of all websites.
jQuery makes it easy to add interactions, animations, and visual effects to pages with just a few lines of code. It abstracts away cross-browser differences and helps beginners start building highly interactive interfaces right away.
For WordPress users, jQuery opens up countless possibilities to customize sites beyond the limits of themes and plugins. With step-by-step guides, anyone can learn how to tap into jQuery‘s capabilities for their next WordPress project.
In this post, I‘ll share my top 8 jQuery tutorial recommendations specifically for WordPress beginners…
Contents
A Quick Intro to jQuery
Before we jump into the tutorials, let‘s briefly talk about what jQuery actually is and how it works with WordPress.
jQuery is a lightweight JavaScript library released in 2006. It provides helpful utility functions to make common tasks like DOM manipulation, event handling, and AJAX much simpler.
For example, this jQuery code selects an element by ID and changes its text color to blue:
$("#myElement").css("color", "blue");Rather than verbosity like document.querySelector, jQuery uses CSS selector syntax and functional methods you can chain together.
WordPress core includes jQuery by default, so you can use it out of the box. Simply enqueue any custom scripts that use jQuery calls like above.
Now let‘s go over some excellent beginner jQuery tutorials…
1. Create Tabbed Content Boxes
Tabbed content boxes allow you to neatly organize information and save space. Rather than taking up your entire sidebar, tabs let you tuck related content into compact sections that users can access with a click.
This jQuery tabber tutorial shows you how to create a tabbed widget plugin. You‘ll learn how to build the tab structure in HTML, then write the jQuery to switch between tabs and their corresponding content panels when clicked.
For example, the HTML markup may look like:
<div class="tabber">
<div class="tabbertab">
<h2>Tab 1</h2>
<!-- tab 1 content -->
</div>
<div class="tabbertab">
<h2>Tab 2</h2>
<!-- tab 2 content -->
</div>
</div>Then the jQuery listens for click events on the <h2> titles and shows the related tab content:
$(‘.tabbertab h2‘).click(function() {
// show tab content
});With this coding knowledge, you can add tabbed boxes anywhere on your site. Try tabs in your sidebar, product pages, forms, and more for improved navigation.
2. Build an FAQ Accordion
Accordions are a user-friendly way to present FAQs, lists, or other stacked content. Only one section is open at a time, minimizing scrolling on long pages.
This accordion tutorial teaches you how to take a basic FAQ page and transform it into a polished accordion menu. It covers how to structure the HTML markup so each question and answer pair has its own container. Then jQuery clicks through each accordion section smoothly.
For example:
<div class="accordion">
<div class="accordion-item">
<h3 class="question">Question 1</h3>
<div class="answer">Answer 1</div>
</div>
<div class="accordion-item">
<h3 class="question">Question 2</h3>
<div class="answer">Answer 2</div>
</div>
</div>The jQuery would toggle the .active class on click to show/hide each answer:
$(‘.question‘).click(function() {
$(this).next(‘.answer‘).toggleClass(‘active‘);
});Accordions are perfect for FAQ pages, nested lists, or anywhere you want to showcase sections of content in a compact, organized way.
Long pages or one-page websites often include navigation buttons to jump back to the top. But an abrupt jump can disorient users. For a better experience, use jQuery to enable smooth scrolling.
This smooth scrolling tutorial shows how to make same-page links gently scroll to their destination when clicked. The jQuery ensures the page slides smoothly rather than jumping.
For example:
$(‘a[href*="#"]‘).click(function() {
$(‘html, body‘).animate({
scrollTop: $( $.attr(this, ‘href‘) ).offset().top
}, 500);
return false;
});This animates the scroll position in 500ms increments, resulting in a smooth glide effect.
Smooth scrolling helps avoid disorientation when navigating long pages or quickly moving through different sections. I recommend adding it to any site with internal anchor links jumping to on-page IDs.
4. Create Interactive Tooltips
Tooltips provide helpful information when users hover over an element. They can give field instructions on forms, display user avatars on comment sections, and more.
In this jQuery tooltip tutorial, learn how to activate tooltips that appear on hover and disappear when no longer needed. The jQuery uses CSS and JavaScript to create a "tooltip" div that slides into place at the right position.
For example:
$(‘.tooltip‘).hover(function() {
// show tooltip div
}, function() {
// hide tooltip div
});Tooltips create an interactive experience and share guidance just when users need it. Try adding them anywhere users might need a bit more context.
5. Make Videos Responsive
Embedded YouTube videos won‘t automatically resize on mobile devices. As a result, videos may appear cut off or with black bars on smaller screens.
This tutorial on responsive WordPress videos shows how to use the FitVids jQuery plugin to make videos scale correctly. It adjusts their width fluidly based on the available container width.
For example:
$(‘.video‘).fitVids();Making videos responsive enhances the viewing experience on any device size. It helps avoid awkward cropped or full-width videos on mobile.
6. Build Rotating Content Carousels
Carousels cycle through pieces of content, displaying one at a time. They work nicely for testimonials, logos, images, and more.
With this jQuery carousel tutorial, learn how to create slick carousels that automatically rotate on a timed interval. The jQuery handles smoothly sliding each item into view at a consistent pace.
For example:
let currentIndex = 0;
setInterval(function() {
// slide to next index
currentIndex++;
if (currentIndex === lastIndex) {
currentIndex = 0;
}
$(‘.slides‘).animate({
left: currentIndex * -slideWidth
});
}, 5000);This loops through each slide every 5 seconds, creating a smooth rotating effect.
Rotating carousels help showcase different pieces of content while saving space. All the information is there, just shown in a dynamic way.
7. Add Slide-Out Mobile Menus
Hamburger menus that slide out from the side are user-friendly on mobile. They conserve screen space while still providing access to navigation links.
This slide panel menu tutorial shows how to recreate this effect in jQuery. When a user clicks the menu button, jQuery animates the menu sliding into view.
For example:
$(‘.hamburger-btn‘).click(function() {
$(‘.slide-menu‘).toggleClass(‘open‘);
});Toggling a class slides the menu over when activated.
Slide-out menus create an optimal mobile experience. Use them in place of space-hogging desktop menus on mobile sites and themes.
8. Build Image Galleries with Lightboxes
Lightboxes display images or content in a popup overlay when clicked. They provide an easy way to enlarge photos without navigating away.
In this lightbox tutorial, learn how to activate a lightbox with jQuery so images open in an overlay on click. Users can easily zoom and scroll through the lightboxed image.
For example:
$(‘.gallery img‘).click(function() {
let src = $(this).attr(‘src‘);
// open lightbox popup with large image
$(‘.lightbox‘).show().find(‘img‘).attr(‘src‘, src);
});Lightboxes give users an intuitive way to view images in more detail. They also work for pop-up content like contact forms and videos.
Keep Learning jQuery for WordPress
Now you have 8 practical jQuery tutorials for leveling up your WordPress skills. Here are some additional resources I recommend for continued learning:
- jQuery Plugin Registry – Useful jQuery scripts and plugins
- JavaScript for WordPress – In-depth JS book tailored for WordPress
- Learn jQuery Subreddit – Ask questions and discuss jQuery
And some final tips from my 15+ years of jQuery and WordPress experience:
- Use efficient selectors like IDs and classes to target elements
- Scope jQuery to run on document ready to avoid conflicts
- Limit DOM manipulation for better performance
- Watch out for accessibility needs like keyboard access
- Test thoroughly across different browsers
- Have fallbacks for when JavaScript is disabled
Now you‘re ready to start using jQuery to take your WordPress skills to the next level! Let me know in the comments if you have any jQuery tutorial requests.
