Parallax is one of those design elements that can be difficult to get right, but it works great if you do. Often parallax is overdone or used as a gimmick. There’s sometimes so much of it that it doesn’t stand out anymore (I’m guilty of this myself). Too much parallax can become annoying and it loses its intrigue.

Use Parallax Sparingly

I’m starting to see parallax used more sparingly and with a greater effect. For example, rather than parallax just for the sake of parallax, I’ve seen it used where it creates an interaction between image layers such as a person in the background moving independently of objects in the foreground, making them seem to interact.

Another good choice is to use it to identify sections in a homepage or  to create a window where the content scrolls differently from the page or maybe it remains in place as the foreground scrolls over it. I’ve seen this used to show content on a monitor or within a small image.

Plugins

In the image above the background is blurred while the foreground is in focus. This can be added to any theme using a plugin such as D.ex – Multilayer Parallax WordPress Plugin which has unlimited layers that can scroll according to your settings. Another good plugin is The Parallaxer WP – Parallax Effects on Content which includes lots of customizations and works with any theme, Visual Composer, and is mobile optimized.

 Themes

Lots of themes have parallax built in. Here are a few:

Let’s Discuss

• Do you use parallax?
• What the best use of parallax that you’ve seen?
• What’s the worst use of parallax that you’ve seen?

Let us know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading and please subscribe if you haven’t already. 

Featured image by Caleb Jones