Best Plugins for Infinite Scroll inWordPress

Best Plugins for Infinite Scroll in WordPress

Do you want to add infinite scrolling to your site but aren’t sure how to do it? You’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will show you some of the best WordPress plugins to add infinite scroll.

Before having a look at the different tools, let’s better understand what infinite scrolling is and what its benefits are over regular pagination.

What is Infinite Scroll?

The traditional pagination system is based on dividing the content into pages. Users can navigate back and forth between the pages by clicking on the numbered links provided at the top or bottom of the page. The most common example of pagination is Google and its search results.

Google Search Pagination

On the other hand, infinite scroll uses AJAX to display all the content on a single page. Initially, only a fixed number of items are displayed, and as the user scrolls down more items are loaded. Examples of infinite scroll include social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. These sites offer a continuous stream of content. The more you scroll down, the more you see.

Now you may ask, why should I switch to infinite scroll? Are there any substantial advantages of infinite scroll over pagination? Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of infinite scroll and why you should use a dedicated plugin.

Benefits of Infinite Scroll

Compared to regular pagination, infinite scrolling is more intuitive as it requires less effort on the user’s end to discover more content. All the content loads dynamically on the same page without any refresh, unlike pagination, making browsing the site much faster.

Similarly, infinite scrolling ensures that the user stays on your site longer, provided you show quality content. Since the content loads automatically when visitors scroll, you have the opportunity to continually feed your user with quality content, grab their attention, and give them reasons to stay on your site.

Moreover, infinite scroll plugins are excellent to make your website more mobile-friendly. Scrolling on touch screen devices is fast and effortless, unlike clicking on the small page numbers of pagination, improving the browsing experience.

Apart from enhancing the user experience on your site, infinite scrolling also helps you improve user engagement and reduce bounce rates on your website. Lower bounce rates are an indication of quality content, which helps you improve your site’s SEO.

So far, we’ve seen some of the advantages of infinite scrolling. However, infinite scroll isn’t always the best method and some sites may benefit more from pagination. Check out our detailed comparison between pagination and infinite scrolling, as it may help you make the right choice.

If you think that infinite scrolling is the best choice for your site, there are two options. You can have a look at our guide to add infinite scroll or use a dedicated plugin. In the following section, we’ll analyze some of the best WordPress plugins for infinite scroll.

Best Plugins for Infinite Scroll in WordPress

The best infinite scroll plugins for WordPress are:

  1. AJAX Load More (Free and premium)
  2. Catch Infinite Scroll (Free and premium)
  3. YITH Infinite Scrolling Free)
  4. Jetpack (Free and premium)
  5. Load More Products for WooCommerce (Free and premium)
  6. WooCommerce Infinite Scroll and AJAX Pagination (Premium)
  7. Animated Infinite Scroll (Premium)

Let’s have a look at what each of them has to offer, so you can choose the most appropriate for you.

1. AJAX Load More

AJAX Load More Plugin for WordPress

With over 50k active installations, AJAX Load More is one of the most popular infinite scroll plugins for WordPress. It works seamlessly for all sorts of websites and supports eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce.

Some of the most interesting features are the repeater templates and a handy shortcode builder. Templates are PHP files that define the way content is displayed on the front end. With repeater templates, you can add your own template to the plugin so that the content the plugin displays matches the rest of your site style.

Additionally, the shortcode builder generates shortcodes based on the query parameters you select. You can specify query parameters such as post type, format, tags, and more, and AJAX Load More will generate a shortcode that you can add to your site. If you have programming skills, you can further customize the shortcode and take full advantage of the customization options.

Moreover, you can add multiple instances of the plugin on a single page or post. AJAX filtering lets you add custom filters to your site and display content based on the chosen filter. Finally, this plugin is highly customizable, allowing you to make adjustments to match the look and feel of your website.

Features

  • Repeater templates allow you to create your own templates
  • Shortcode builder to generate ready-to-use shortcodes
  • Query parameters to query by post type, format, categories, tags, and much more
  • Add multiple instances of the plugin on a single page or post
  • Create custom filters and display results based on selected filters
  • Highly customizable

Pricing

AJAX Load More comes in both free and premium versions. The free version includes basic features while the premium version comes in the form of multiple add-ons. You can either purchase individual add-ons or go for a bundle of all premium extensions that start at 149 USD for a single site.

2. Catch Infinite Scroll

Catch Infinite Scroll Plugin

Catch Infinite Scroll is another popular infinite scroll plugin for WordPress. The plugin is extremely lightweight, minimalistic, and extremely easy to set up.

This plugin doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles but it’s very effective. If you are the kind of person who simply wants a plugin that gets the job done in a few clicks and doesn’t mind not having tons of customization options, this is the tool for you.

Catch Infinite Scroll comes pre-configured and doesn’t require any configuration from the user. From the moment you install the plugin, you can enjoy infinite scroll on your site.

On the customization front, the free version doesn’t have a lot to offer. You can only choose your preferred loading method, either scrolling or a Load more button, and select an image of your choice for the loader icon. However, the premium version allows you to change font size, family, color, customize the Load more button, and more.

All in all, even though it isn’t the most customizable tool, this plugin offers unparalleled simplicity. If you want something minimalistic, easy to use, and that gets the job done, then Catch Infinite Scrolling is your best bet.

Features

  • Very easy to use
  • Extremely lightweight, so it won’t affect the performance of your site at all
  • Choose between Load more button and infinite scrolling
  • Minimalistic with only basic customization options
  • Display custom message at the end
  • Works well with all themes

Pricing

Catch Infinite Scroll is a freemium plugin. The free version covers all the core functionalities, but if you want the extra customization options, you can get the pro version for just 24.99 USD.

3. YITH Infinite Scrolling

YITH Infinite Scrolling for WordPress

Another of the best infinite scroll plugins is YITH Infinite Scrolling. It offers all the core features for infinite scrolling without adding any fluff or overly-complicated functionality. This way, it gets the job done while keeping things simple.

The distinguishing feature of this tool is the ability to add infinite scroll to multiple sections on the same page. You can add infinite scrolling to reviews, testimonials, and blogs and set scrolling options individually for each section.

Regarding scrolling options, you can pick the loader style from the default presets available. Set the paging type to either pagination, infinite scroll, or a Load more button. You can also select the loading animation you like and much more.

Moreover, the URL is updated automatically as the user scrolls to the next page. This way, you can use these updated URLs to send users directly to a particular section. Finally, YITH Infinite Scrolling is WPML compatible, so you can translate it into other languages easily.

Features

  • Add infinite scroll to sections and set options for each one separately
  • Choose a loader style from a set of default presets available
  • Set paging to regular pagination, load more or infinite scroll
  • Set a loading effect from seven different animations
  • Page URL updates automatically
  • WPML compatible

Pricing

YITH Infinite scrolling is a premium plugin and starts at 59.99 USD per year with 1 year of updates and support. Moreover, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you are not satisfied with the product.

4. Jetpack

Jetpack plugin for WordPress

With over 5M active installations, Jetpack by Automattic – the creators of WordPress – is one of the most popular infinite scroll plugins. It’s a great all-around tool that allows you to improve many different aspects of your site.

Along with many other features, Jetpack comes with the option to enable infinite scrolling for archive pages. It lets you choose between regular pagination, a Load more button, or infinite scroll. Even though it doesn’t have any fancy customization options, it gets the job done effectively.

Besides infinite scroll, Jetpack is an excellent tool to help you with your site’s security, performance, design, and marketing. For more information about how to make the most of it, check out our complete Jetpack guide for WordPress.

Features

  • All-in-one plugin to cater to all your WordPress needs
  • Infinite scrolling with the option to choose between pagination, a Load more button, and infinite scroll
  • Enhances security by continuously monitoring your site
  • Performance improvement with site accelerator and lazy loading for images
  • Compose engaging content with a streamlined publishing experience
  • Sharing options to increase the reach of your content
  • Enable discussions with visitors via comments
  • Analytics to monitor your site’s traffic and maximize visibility in search engine results

Pricing

Jetpack is a freemium plugin. The free version includes all the core features and may suffice for most sites. For advanced users, the premium plans start at 9.95 USD per month when paid annually. Additionally, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

5. Load More Products for WooCommerce

Load More Products for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress

Load More Products by BeRocket is one of the best plugins for infinite scroll dedicated to WooCommerce. This tool covers all the core features along with several customization options. Keep in mind that it’s a specialized plugin for WooCommerce only, so it won’t work with WordPress blogs and other pages.

With this plugin, you can set navigation mode to either pagination, a Load more button, or infinite scroll. Select different styles of navigation for mobile devices, limit products per page, and set your own loader icon. Moreover, the URL is updated for each page displayed, but you can also opt out from it.

Coming to the customization options, you can fully personalize the Load more button and add a Load previous button to go back to the previous page. You can also add a custom message to the end of the page and even change the loading text. Moreover, you can add JavaScript hooks and custom CSS to further style it.

Finally, Load More Products also features lazy loading for images and thumbnails. Lazy loading means the images are loaded only when the user reaches that image and not on the page load. This reduces page loading time, improving user experience, SEO, and site speed. You can enable lazy loading for the whole site or on mobile devices only.

Features

  • Choose between pagination, load more, and infinite scroll options
  • Select different navigation methods for mobile devices
  • Customizable Load more button, loading image, and text
  • JavaScript hooks to add custom coding
  • Lazy loading for pictures and thumbnails with 40+ animations
  • Custom messages for users when they reach the end of the content

Pricing

Load More Products for WooCommerce comes in both free and paid versions. The free version includes basic functions. For advanced customization options, you can get their premium plans that start at 34 USD for a single site. All the premium plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can get a refund if you’re not happy with the product.

6. WooCommerce Infinite Scroll and AJAX Pagination

WooCommerce Infinite Scroll and AJAX Pagination plugin for WordPress

WooCommerce Infinite Scroll and AJAX Pagination is another of the best infinite scroll plugins developed for WooCommerce. With this tool, you can choose between AJAX pagination, a Load more button, and infinite scrolling for navigation purposes. Moreover, you can select a different navigation method for desktop and mobile devices.

Apart from infinite scrolling, this plugin also features the lazy loading of WooCommerce thumbnails. This way, thumbnails are only loaded when the user scrolls down and not on page load, helping you save server resources and improving your site’s speed.

This tool requires minimum setup and offers a very minimalistic interface that’s easy to work with. Finally, customer support is great, so if you run into any issues, you will get fast and useful answers.

Features

  • Comes with 3 pagination methods: AJAX pagination, Load more button, and infinite scrolling
  • Ability to set a different paging type for mobile devices
  • Lazy loading for WooCommerce thumbnails
  • Limit products per page, change placeholder images, animations, and more
  • Excellent customer support

Pricing

WooCommerce Infinite Scroll and Pagination is a premium plugin that you can get for 17 USD and 6 months of support. If you want extra support, you can extend it to 12 months for an extra 10.50 USD.

7. Animated Infinite Scroll

Animated Infinite Scroll Plugin for WordPress

Animated Infinite Scroll is an excellent plugin developed by Sbthemes. It’s an all-purpose tool that works seamlessly with WordPress sites as well as platforms like WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and more.

It offers three paging methods (AJAX pagination, Load more button, and infinite scroll) and allows you to choose a preferred method for mobile devices. Moreover, the plugin works for unlimited pages, so you don’t have to worry about reaching the maximum limit.

On the customization front, Animated Infinite Scroll offers multiple customization options along with over 130 animation styles. You also get a custom selector option to work with custom themes and you can add a custom class to the loader button to customize its styling as well.

Finally, this plugin offers a clean interface, is pretty easy to set up, and offers excellent customer support.

Features

  • 3 navigation methods: AJAX pagination, load more, and infinite scroll
  • Choose a different paging method for mobile devices
  • Works with unlimited pages
  • Over 130 animation styles
  • Add a custom class to the loader button for styling
  • Works with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and other platforms
  • Excellent customer support

Pricing

Animated Infinite Scroll is a premium plugin available at Envato market for 15 USD with a 6-month support. You can also extend this support to 12 months for an additional 8.75 USD.

Conclusion

All in all, infinite scrolling is a great way to enhance your site’s user experience with more intuitive browsing, especially for mobile and other touch screen devices.

Since the content keeps loading automatically when the user scrolls, it keeps them engaged, and as a result, they stay on your site for longer. A higher user engagement coupled with a better user experience results in a reduced bounce rate and improves your site’s SEO.

In this article, we have shared our list of the best plugins for infinite scroll for WordPress. But which one of these is the best for you? The answer to this question is quite subjective and it boils down to one’s own requirements and preferences.

Our Recommendations

AJAX Load More is one of the best plugins for infinite scroll we have on our list. It gives you complete freedom by allowing you to create your own shortcodes and place them anywhere on your site. It’s worth noting that users without much technical knowledge may find it hard to set up. If that’s your case, we recommend you check out our step-by-step guide to set up infinite scrolling using AJAX Load More.

On the other hand, if you simply want a plugin that is ready to use and gets the job done, then Catch Infinite Scrolling is your best bet. It comes pre-configured and you can set it up in one click. YITH Infinite Scrolling is also a simple yet feature-rich plugin that offers more customization options, making it a good choice.

Alternatively, if you want a dedicated WooCommerce plugin, Load More Products for WooCommerce by BeRocket is your choice. This feature-packed tool is built especially for WooCommerce stores and will help you boost your sales.

Finally, Jetpack by Automattic is an all-in-one plugin that will take care of most of your WordPress needs. If you are looking for a tool that can take care of your site’s performance, security, and allow you to add infinite scrolling at the same time, Jetpack is the plugin for you.

Have you ever set up infinite scrolling on your WordPress/WooCommerce site? Which plugin did you use? Which tool should we include? Let us know in the comments below.