Description
Smooth Custom Cursor replaces the default browser cursor with a beautiful animated cursor effect. Fully customizable from the WordPress admin panel, with a live preview box for every style.
Choose from 9 cursor styles:
1. Dot + Ring — classic lagging ring with magnetic hover (the original style)
2. Glow Circle — small circle that grows into a larger circle with custom text on hover
3. Diamond — a tilting diamond shape that reacts to movement direction
4. Water Arrow — a hollow arrow that fills up like liquid and drains, on a loop
5. Bubble Trail — a normal-looking arrow that releases bubbles while moving
6. Character Trail — a normal-looking arrow that releases letters/characters while moving
7. Sparkle Arrow — a spinning sparkle that tilts with movement and morphs into an arrow-in-circle on hover
8. Seed Bloom — a seed that drifts with a trailing vine and blooms into a flower on hover, with an optional magnetic button pull
9. Image Cursor — upload any image from your Media Library to use as the cursor
Features:
* 9 selectable cursor styles, each with its own settings section
* Live preview box on the settings page for every style — see your changes before saving
* Customizable colors, sizes, hover sizes, speed, and particle amount depending on style
* Optional magnetic button-pull effect (Seed Bloom style only)
* Option to disable on mobile/touch devices
* Hides cursor when mouse leaves the browser window
* Zero dependencies — pure vanilla JavaScript
* Lightweight and performance-optimized
Installation
- Upload the smooth-custom-cursor folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory, or install directly via Plugins > Add New in WordPress admin.
- Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu.
- Go to Settings > Cursor Ultimate to pick a cursor style and configure its settings, using the live preview box to check it before saving.
FAQ
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Does it work with all themes?
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Yes. The plugin injects the cursor elements via wp_footer and loads styles/scripts on all frontend pages.
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Can I disable it on mobile?
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Yes. In Settings > Cursor Ultimate, check the “Disable on Mobile” option.
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Why does my default cursor still show?
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Make sure no other plugin or theme CSS is overriding cursor: none. The plugin sets cursor: none !important on all elements.
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Can I switch between styles without losing my settings?
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Yes. Each style’s settings are stored separately, so switching the “Cursor Style” dropdown keeps your previous configuration for every style intact.
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When enabled (Seed Bloom style only), it applies to all buttons and links site-wide. If you have a lot of inline text links, consider leaving it off since pulling running text can look odd.
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What happens if I choose Image Cursor but don’t upload an image?
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The plugin falls back to the normal browser cursor until an image is chosen.
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What WordPress version is required?
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WordPress 5.8 or higher.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Smooth Custom Cursor” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.3.0
- New: 8 additional cursor styles — Glow Circle, Diamond, Water Arrow, Bubble Trail, Character Trail, Sparkle Arrow, Seed Bloom, and Image Cursor (9 total, including the original Dot + Ring)
- New: Cursor Style dropdown in Settings > Cursor Ultimate, with a dedicated settings section per style
- New: Live preview box on the settings page for every style, reflecting unsaved changes in real time
- New: Diamond uses a color-invert effect on hover
- New: Optional magnetic button-pull effect for Seed Bloom, with adjustable radius and strength
- New: Size and Hover Size controls for Bubble Trail and Character Trail
- Improved: Clearer labeling for Bubble Trail / Character Trail spacing controls (“Bubble/Character Spacing (distance in px)” with a plain-language explanation)
- Improved: Settings for every style are saved independently, so switching styles never loses your previous configuration
- Improved: All new inputs sanitized and validated (hex colors, clamped number ranges, whitelisted dropdowns, sanitized image URLs) with nonce + capability checks, matching existing security practices
2.2
- Fixed: Cursor z-index increased to always stay on top
2.1
- Fixed: CSS variables now injected via wp_add_inline_style
- Fixed: All functions and options prefixed with smoocucu_
- Fixed: POST inputs now use isset, wp_unslash and sanitization
- Fixed: ABSPATH check added to all PHP files
- Security: Nonce verification on settings form
- Security: Capability check on settings page
- Improved: Cursor hides when mouse leaves browser window
2.0
- Initial release.