9 Creative Ways to Use Text-Only Carousels

by [email protected] on May 14, 2018 | Reader Disclosure

Most sliders are built around photos, but some of the most useful ones on the web have no images at all. A rotating set of quotes, reviews, or short announcements can say more than a stock photo ever could — and it loads in a fraction of the time.

We’ve noticed that site owners often reach for an image slider by default, even when the thing they want to show is really words. In this article, we’ll share 9 creative ways to use text-only carousels, plus how to build one in WordPress.

Why Use Text Sliders?

Sliders are mostly used to show off photography, but there are plenty of times when simple text works better than a picture. Here are the situations where a text-only carousel tends to be the smarter choice:

Images would be unnecessary, such as when displaying quotes or testimonials. A random, unrelated photo here can raise eyebrows.
You don’t have much room, such as in a sidebar, and a text slider is a good compromise.
Images would be distracting or clash with a simple site design.
You can’t find suitable images that match your website’s theme.
You want a fast-loading slider. Images can be optimized, but snippets of text add almost nothing to page size.

That last point matters more than it looks, because sliders often sit at the top of the page where load speed is felt most.

So when is an image the better choice? Here are the cases where pictures earn their place in a slider:

The images add context. Every image takes a little more loading time, so each one should be useful.
The images fit well with your site’s theme.
You’re trying to draw the eye to something important.
You expect images to make people more likely to click.
You have plenty of room for large images.
The images won’t be annoyingly flashy where they sit.

If none of these apply, a text carousel is probably the better fit. Here are 9 ideas for putting one to work.

Customer Testimonials

People tend to trust other customers more than they trust a business talking about itself. Testimonials let you show visitors that real people have had a good experience with you, and a slider is a tidy way to display several without taking over the page.

If you’ve received a few well-worded reviews, they’re worth showing off. To pull testimonials in automatically from custom posts or a testimonial plugin, see our guide on how to create a customer testimonial slider in WordPress.

Quotes

Some sites come alive with a rotating set of quotes. A self-help site could show inspiring quotes, and an author could share short passages from a new book.

You could also open each article with a few related quotations to set the mood, or use a slider to cite your sources.

Link to Social Media

A text slider is an unobtrusive way to point visitors to your social media accounts. A short line about what you post on each account, plus a link, is often more persuasive than a plain row of icons.

And if you’re active on several networks, a carousel saves a lot of space.

If you run more accounts than a slider can comfortably hold, social media management tools can help you manage and post to all of them in one place.

Content Promotion

If promotions for your latest sale, book, or product aren’t getting clicks, the design may be part of the problem. Visitors learn to tune out anything that looks like an ad — a habit known as banner blindness — so a flashy promo image can go unnoticed.

Short text promotions in a slider are one way around this. Text isn’t as eye-grabbing as an image, but it’s less likely to be ignored on sight.

You can still add a button and a clear call to action to each slide. These mini-promos work especially well on a blog, where they won’t pull attention away from the article.

Promote Latest Articles With Snippets

A slider can also display your recent blog posts. It pulls in your latest posts automatically, so you can set it up once and forget about it. It looks great on your homepage, in the sidebar, or below an article.

There are several display options, from just an image to an image plus title. One of them shows the post excerpt, so if you only want the title or excerpt in your slider, it’s just a matter of adjusting the settings.

Introduce Team Members

Want to give your team a memorable introduction? Try a slider! Each slide can share a quick snippet about who someone is, what they do, and how they joined the business — or a quote from them.

A text carousel also works for introducing yourself, with separate slides for your qualifications, interests, and a short bio.

Product Features or Description

If you run an online store, a text slider can list the features of a product. It’s a good home for dimensions, shipping details, available variations, and other useful info that doesn’t fit in the main description.

In this case, we recommend turning off auto-advancing slides, so shoppers can read each one at their own pace.

Tell a Story or Make a Statement

Have a short story to tell, or a bold statement to make? A slider lets visitors move through it one beat at a time, which can turn first-time visitors into fans of your work.

Bold, interesting typography does a lot of the work here, so it’s worth spending time on fonts and spacing.

Referrals

If you run a referral program, or simply want to give a shout-out to your favorite blogs and websites, a small carousel might be just what you need. Add each site’s name and a short description, and you’ll have a humble but elegant way to credit the people who have helped your blog or business.

How to Make a Text-Only Carousel in WordPress

Soliloquy makes this easy with HTML slides. When you create a slider, click Select Files From Other Sources, then choose Insert HTML Slide and type or paste your text into the slide.

Because each slide is plain HTML, you can add headings, quotes, and links without needing an image at all. Our guide on how to create an HTML slider in WordPress walks through every step.

Pro Tip: Keep each text slide short enough to read before it advances. If a slide needs more than a sentence or two, slow the slider speed down or turn off autoplay.

Get Soliloquy Now

Carousels Aren’t Just for Photographers!

Sliders are best known for photography and promotions, but their potential is only limited by your imagination. A text carousel is a great way to display customer testimonials, promote articles or sales discreetly, or share useful information.

FAQs About Text-Only Carousels

What is a text slider?

A text slider is a slider or carousel whose slides contain words instead of photos, such as quotes, testimonials, or short announcements. It rotates through each slide the same way an image slider does.

Can I make a slider without images in WordPress?

Yes. With Soliloquy, you can add HTML slides that contain only text and links. Choose Insert HTML Slide when adding slides, then write your content directly into each slide.

Are text sliders better for page speed?

Generally, yes. Text adds very little to page size compared with images, so a text-only slider loads faster than an image slider with the same number of slides.

Should a testimonial slider autoplay?

It can, as long as each slide stays up long enough to read comfortably. For longer testimonials or product details, we prefer turning autoplay off and letting visitors click through with the arrows.

That’s it! We hope these ideas inspire your next text-only carousel. If you’d like to start building, check out these beginner-friendly guides: