Implementing Infinite Scroll in WordPress Themes
Posted on 20th June 2023
Infinite scroll is a popular feature that is often used on websites and apps. It allows users to scroll through a long list of content without having to click on a pagination link or load a new page.
In this article, we will show you how to easily add infinite scroll to your WordPress theme.
Why Implement Infinite Scroll?
There are many reasons why you would want to add infinite scroll to your WordPress site.
Here are some of the benefits of using infinite scroll:
1. It keeps users engaged on your site for longer.
2. It reduces the number of pageviews, which can help your site load faster.
3. It makes it easy for users to find older content on your site.
4. It can be used as an alternative to pagination or load more buttons.
5. It can be used to create a “endless” page.
How to Implement Infinite Scroll in WordPress Themes
Now that you know why you should use infinite scroll, let’s take a look at how to add it to your WordPress theme.
There are two ways to add infinite scroll to WordPress:
1. Use a plugin.
2. Manually add the code to your theme.
We will show you both methods.
Method 1: Use a Plugin
The first method is to use a plugin. This is the easiest way to add infinite scroll to your WordPress site.
We recommend using the Infinite Scroll plugin. It is the most popular infinite scroll plugin and it is very easy to use.
Once you install and activate the plugin, go to Settings » Infinite Scroll to configure the plugin settings.
First, you need to choose the post type that you want to enable infinite scroll for. By default, the plugin will work for your blog posts.
You can also choose to enable infinite scroll for your WooCommerce products, portfolio items, or any other custom post type.
Next, you need to choose the action that will trigger infinite scroll. The options are:
1. Click on the “Load More” button.
2. Automatically load more posts when the user reaches the bottom of the page.
3. Both of the above.
If you choose the “Load More” button option, then you need to enter the text that you want to display on the button.
You can also choose to display a “loading” animation while the new posts are being loaded.
Once you are done configuring the plugin settings, click on the “Save Changes” button to store your changes.
Your WordPress site will now have infinite scroll enabled.
Method 2: Manually Add the Code to Your Theme
If you don’t want to use a plugin, then you can add the code to your WordPress theme.
Adding the code to your theme is a bit more complicated than using a plugin. But it is not too difficult.
First, you need to add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin:
function wp_ajax_nopriv_load_more_posts() {
// Code to load more posts goes here.
}
add_action( ‘wp_ajax_nopriv_load_more_posts’, ‘wp_ajax_nopriv_load_more_posts’ );
This code tells WordPress to call the wp_ajax_nopriv_load_more_posts() function when it receives an AJAX request from a user who is not logged in.
Next, you need to add the following code to the wp_ajax_nopriv_load_more_posts() function:
$args = array(
‘post_type’ => ‘post’,
‘posts_per_page’ => 10,
‘paged’ => $_POST[‘page’]
);
$query = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $query->have_posts() ) {
while ( $query->have_posts() ) {
$query->the_post();
// Code to display the post goes here.
}
wp_reset_postdata();
}
die();
This code sets up a new WP_Query query. It retrieves 10 posts from the WordPress database.
The code also tells WordPress to die after it finishes running the code. This is important because WordPress will keep running if you don’t include this line of code.
Now you need to add the following code to your theme’s JavaScript file:
jQuery(function($){
var page = 1;
$(‘body’).on(‘click’, ‘.load-more’, function(){
page++;
var data = {
action: ‘load_more_posts’,
page: page
};
$.post(ajaxurl, data, function(response){
$(‘.posts’).append(response);
});
});
});
This code tells WordPress to call the wp_ajax_nopriv_load_more_posts() function when the user clicks on the “Load More” button.
It also tells WordPress to append the response to the .posts element.
You can style the “Load More” button however you want.
And that’s it. You have successfully added infinite scroll to your WordPress theme.
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## Implementing Infinite Scroll in WordPress Themes
Infinite scroll is a popular technique used to achieve a “never ending” scrolling effect on web pages. With infinite scroll, content is loaded as the user scrolls down the page, eliminating the need for pagination links.
There are a few ways to implement infinite scroll in WordPress themes. In this article, we will show you how to do it with the help of a WordPress plugin.
When adding infinite scroll to your WordPress theme, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you’ll need to make sure that your theme is using the latest version of jQuery. Infinite scroll relies on jQuery’s ability to load content dynamically, so an older version won’t work.
Next, you’ll need to decide how you want infinite scroll to work. There are two main ways to implement it:
The first way is to have infinite scroll automatically load new content when the user reaches the bottom of the page. This is the most common way to use infinite scroll, and it’s the method we’ll be covering in this article.
The second way is to provide a “load more” button that the user can click to load new content. This method is less common, but it can be useful if you want to give the user more control over when new content is loaded.
Once you’ve decided how you want to implement infinite scroll, you’ll need to add some code to your WordPress theme. The exact code you’ll need to use will vary depending on the method you’ve chosen, but we’ll provide examples for both methods below.
If you’re using the “load more” button method, you’ll need to add a bit of JavaScript to your theme. This code will handle loading new content when the user clicks the button. Paste the following code into your theme’s JavaScript file:
$(‘.load-more’).on(‘click’, function() {
var url = $(‘.load-more’).attr(‘data-url’);
$.get(url, function(data) {
$(‘.load-more’).before(data);
});
});
This code uses jQuery’s get() function to load new content from the URL specified in the button’s data-url attribute. Once the content has been loaded, it’s inserted into the page before the button.
If you’re using the automatic infinite scroll method, you’ll need to add a bit of code to your theme’s functions.php file. This code will tell WordPress to load new content when the user scrolls to the bottom of the page. Paste the following code into your theme’s functions.php file:
add_action(‘wp_footer’, ‘my_infinite_scroll_footer’);
function my_infinite_scroll_footer() {
?>
var infinite_scroll = {
loading: {
img: ”,
msgText: ”,
finishedMsg: ”
},
“nextSelector”:”.nav-previous a”,
“navSelector”:”.navigation”,
“itemSelector”:”.post”,
“contentSelector”:”.site-main”
};
<?php
}
This code defines a JavaScript object that tells WordPress how to load new content. The object includes options for the loading image, text, and finished message. It also includes selectors for the next button, navigation, and content.
Once you've added the code to your theme, infinite scroll will be enabled. New content will be loaded automatically when the user scrolls to the bottom of the page, or when they click the "load more" button if you're using that method.
