jQuery Plugin Collection for WordPress and Beyond

A curated list of jQuery plugins that belong in every web developer's toolkit. These are plugins I use regularly — some specifically with WordPress, others on any project that uses jQuery.

For WordPress Specifically

1. Loading jQuery the Right Way in WordPress

Before anything else: do not call jQuery directly in a WordPress theme. WordPress ships with jQuery and has its own script loading system. Use wp_enqueue_script in your functions.php to register and load it properly:

function mytheme_scripts() {
    wp_enqueue_script('jquery');
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'mytheme_scripts');

Remember that WordPress loads jQuery in noConflict mode. Wrap your code in (function($){ ... })(jQuery); to use the $ shorthand safely.

2. jQuery Form Plugin

URL: http://jquery.malsup.com/form/

Turns any standard HTML form into an AJAX-submitting form with a single line of code. Used internally by Contact Form 7 and many other popular WordPress plugins. Handles file uploads, serialization, and callbacks.

$('#myForm').ajaxForm({
    success: function(response) {
        $('#result').html(response);
    }
});

3. jQuery Cookie

URL: https://github.com/carhartl/jquery-cookie

Lightweight, clean API for reading and writing browser cookies. Useful for remembering user preferences (collapsed sidebar state, theme selection, dismissed notices) across page loads.

// Write
$.cookie('sidebar', 'collapsed', { expires: 7, path: '/' });

// Read
var state = $.cookie('sidebar'); // 'collapsed'

// Delete
$.removeCookie('sidebar');

General Purpose

4. jQuery Easing Plugin

URL: http://gsgd.co.uk/sandbox/jquery/easing/

Adds 30+ easing functions to jQuery's .animate(). The default jQuery easings (linear and swing) feel mechanical — easing functions like easeOutBounce, easeInOutCubic, and easeOutElastic make animations feel alive. An essential companion for any animated UI.

5. jQuery Dimensions

Extends jQuery with outerWidth(), outerHeight(), innerWidth(), and innerHeight() methods that account for padding and borders. As of jQuery 1.3+, these are now built into the core — but for older projects, this plugin fills the gap.

6. jQuery HoverIntent

Smarter hover detection with a configurable sensitivity threshold. The standard jQuery .hover() fires immediately on mouseenter — hoverIntent waits to confirm the user actually intends to hover before triggering, preventing accidental dropdown menu openings when the cursor passes over the trigger.

7. jQuery Mousewheel

Cross-browser mousewheel event normalization. Browsers (especially older IE and Firefox) handle mousewheel events differently — this plugin smooths over the differences and gives you a consistent mousewheel event with a normalized delta value.

Miscellaneous

8. jQuery Metadata

Reads structured data embedded in HTML element attributes (class names, custom attributes, or dedicated data attributes). Useful before HTML5 data-* attributes became standard. Allows plugin configuration to be defined inline in the HTML rather than in JavaScript.

9. jQuery ScrollTo

Smooth animated scrolling to any element on the page, or to any coordinates. More flexible than CSS scroll-behavior: smooth and works in all browsers.

// Scroll to an element
$.scrollTo('#section3', 600, { easing: 'easeOutQuad' });

// Scroll by a fixed amount
$.scrollTo('+=200px', 400);

All of these plugins are small, well-maintained, and solve real problems. Most are available on the jQuery Plugins repository (plugins.jquery.com) or directly from the links above.