SmartUpWorld Post Slider

A lightweight, accessible Owl Carousel post slider for WordPress. Display your latest posts anywhere with a single shortcode — no configuration required.

Version 1.0.1 Free

Download from WordPress.org

What Is SmartUpWorld Post Slider?

SmartUpWorld Post Slider lets you display your WordPress posts in a beautiful, responsive carousel using a simple shortcode. It bundles Owl Carousel 2 — no CDN dependency — and loads assets only on pages where the shortcode is used.

Key features:

  • Simple shortcode — paste it anywhere: posts, pages, widgets, templates
  • Responsive — 1 column on mobile, 2 on tablet, 3 on desktop
  • Optional section header with eyebrow pill, title, gradient underline, and subtitle
  • Filter by category slug or ID
  • Show specific posts by ID
  • Exclude the current post (perfect for single post templates)
  • Navigation arrows, pagination dots, autoplay with hover-pause
  • LCP-safe eager loading on the first slide; lazy loading on all others
  • Full ARIA accessibility — labelled buttons, dots, keyboard support

Installation

  1. Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard, search for SmartUpWorld Post Slider, and click Install Now. Or download from WordPress.org and upload the zip.
  2. Click Activate.
  3. Paste [suwps_post_slider] into any post, page, or widget.
  4. Visit Post Slider in your admin sidebar for the full shortcode reference and copy-ready examples.

Basic Shortcode

Drop this anywhere to display your 8 latest published posts in a responsive carousel:

[suwps_post_slider]

All Shortcode Attributes

AttributeDefaultDescription
eyebrowSmall pill label above the section title. Omit to hide.
titleSection heading rendered as an H2. Omit to hide the header entirely.
subtitleSubheading text below the title. Omit to hide.
underlinetrueShow a gradient bar under the title. Set to false to remove.
count8Number of posts to display.
categoryFilter by category slug or numeric ID. Example: category="tech" or category="14".
idsComma-separated post IDs. Overrides count and category.
skipSet to current to skip the current post. Ideal for single post templates.
layoutcontainedcontained (centred max-width wrapper) or fullwidth.
navtrueShow previous/next arrow buttons. Set to false to hide.
dotstrueShow pagination dots. Set to false to hide.

Usage Examples

Slider only — no header
[suwps_post_slider]
With title only
[suwps_post_slider title="Latest Insights"]
Full header — eyebrow, title, subtitle
[suwps_post_slider eyebrow="From The Blog" title="Latest Insights" subtitle="Practical guides on website care, speed and security."]
Related posts on single post pages — skip current
[suwps_post_slider title="Related Articles" underline="false" count="6" skip="current" nav="false"]
Filter by category
[suwps_post_slider title="Tech Articles" category="tech" count="6"]
Specific post IDs
[suwps_post_slider title="Featured Posts" ids="12,45,67,89"]
Minimal — no arrows, no dots
[suwps_post_slider nav="false" dots="false"]

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it require any configuration?

No. Install, activate, and paste the shortcode. It works out of the box with your existing posts.

Will it conflict with my theme's Owl Carousel?

The plugin registers its assets under unique handles (suw-owl-carousel, suw-post-slider). If your theme already loads Owl Carousel, WordPress deduplicates automatically so the library only loads once.

Does it affect page speed?

Assets only load on pages where the shortcode is used. The first slide image loads eagerly for LCP; all others are lazy loaded.

How do I show related posts on a single post page?

Use skip="current" to exclude the post the visitor is reading: [suwps_post_slider title="Related Articles" skip="current"]

Can I show posts from a specific category?

Yes — use the category attribute with a slug or numeric ID: [suwps_post_slider category="news"]

Changelog

1.0.1
  • Renamed the shortcode tag to [suwps_post_slider] for a unique, conflict-free prefix.
  • Moved admin page CSS and JavaScript into properly enqueued files.
  • Renamed the exclude attribute to skip.
1.0.0
  • Initial release.
  • Bundled Owl Carousel 2.3.4 — no CDN dependency.
  • Shortcode attributes: eyebrow, title, subtitle, underline, count, category, ids, exclude, layout, nav, dots.
  • ARIA accessibility — labelled nav buttons and dots.
  • LCP-safe eager loading on first slide image.
  • Admin documentation page with copy-ready examples.