Smooth Custom Cursor
Adds a smooth, animated custom cursor — choose from 9 cursor styles, each fully customizable with a live preview — no coding needed.
Solid choice
Smooth Custom Cursor is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 300+ sites and was last updated 2 weeks ago, and scores 73/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed — last update 2 weeks ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (300+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Smooth Custom Cursor stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| animation | >100 |
| cursor | #2 |
| custom cursor | #1 |
| mouse | #28 |
| smooth cursor | #1 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Smooth Custom Cursor
From the official readme · v2.3.1Description
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work with all themes?
Yes. The plugin injects the cursor elements via wp_footer and loads styles/scripts on all frontend pages.
Can I disable it on mobile?
Yes. In Settings > Cursor Ultimate, check the “Disable on Mobile” option.
Why does my default cursor still show?
Make sure no other plugin or theme CSS is overriding cursor: none. The plugin sets cursor: none !important on all elements.
Can I switch between styles without losing my settings?
Yes. Each style’s settings are stored separately, so switching the “Cursor Style” dropdown keeps your previous configuration for every style intact.
Does the magnetic button effect apply everywhere?
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.
What happens if I choose Image Cursor but don’t upload an image?
The plugin falls back to the normal browser cursor until an image is chosen.
What WordPress version is required?
WordPress 5.8 or higher.
Changelog
Adds 8 new cursor styles (9 total) with per-style settings and live previews. Your existing Dot + Ring configuration is preserved and stays selected by default after updating.
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.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
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Best Smooth Custom Cursor alternatives
All animation plugins →
FAQ
Smooth Custom Cursor: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 28, 2026
Is Smooth Custom Cursor free?
Yes. Smooth Custom Cursor is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Smooth Custom Cursor safe to use in 2026?
Smooth Custom Cursor is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 300+ sites and was last updated 2 weeks ago, and scores 73/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Smooth Custom Cursor?
Smooth Custom Cursor is active on 300+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 4,234 times since it launched in May 2026. It was downloaded 334 times in the last 30 days.
Does Smooth Custom Cursor work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested Smooth Custom Cursor up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.8 or newer.
What PHP version does Smooth Custom Cursor need?
Smooth Custom Cursor requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Smooth Custom Cursor last updated?
The latest version, 2.3.1, was released on September 16, 2026 (2 weeks ago).
Who makes Smooth Custom Cursor?
Smooth Custom Cursor is developed and maintained by hsarticle.
What are the best alternatives to Smooth Custom Cursor?
The most popular alternatives to Smooth Custom Cursor are Blocks Animation: CSS Anima… (90K+ installs), Greenshift (70K+ installs) and UiCore Animate (40K+ installs).
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