10 Stunning Horizontal Scrolling WordPress Themes for 2012
I’ve written and spoken quite a bit about horizontal scrolling WordPress themes on this blog, mostly in relation to the work of one of my favourite theme developers, Greg Ponchak. You can see my take on his work in this video here in case you missed. And while I’m on the matter, I can announce that I’ll be reviewing one of his latest themes soon and showing you how you might use it to create a simple art project. Exciting stuff on the horizon!
Anyway, back to this post. It seems to me that the horizontal scrolling theme category has never really been taken seriously simply because our experience of the web is still dominated by a top-down layout of content. Consequently, horizontal themes tend to be seen as ultra-niche, a novelty that often inspires wonder, but doesn’t really convert into large sales figures. Well I think that’s about to change.
Why? Portable devices are changing the way we access and experience web content. Tablets for example, support landscape and portrait views and their touchscreen capabilities make horizontal navigation just as easy as vertical. In addition, people use tablets for a different experience of the web. They want to be immersed in the content. They don’t want to do complex data retrieval manipulations that your keyboard and mouse allow you to do. So video, photos and audio are really coming of age with tablet culture. For these reasons, I see a serious future for horizontal scrolling WordPress themes.
So I decided to bring together a collection of the ten best horizontal scrolling WordPress themes for 2012 in the hope that it might sway a few more heads in the direction of this neglected form factor and get people thinking outside the box in terms of web and content design. So without further ado, here’s my list. It’s not in any order of preference by the way, just a free form list. Enjoy!
1. Expositio
This is a free theme by the short-lived, much praised theme makers known as WPShower. This is an ultra minimal theme best suited for a simple photography or art work portfolio for example. As the theme’s title indicates, the design premise behind the theme was to create a gallery-like experience in a WordPress theme. I really like this theme, not least for the fact that it’s free, but I think if I was going to create a new project site and I didn’t have a ton of data, this would be at the top of my sideways scrolling theme list.
Author: WPShower / Type: Portfolio / Price: Free / Demo & Download →
2. Parallaxr
The Parallaxr WordPress theme makes use of the visual phenomenon known as “parallax”, which to quote Wikipedia “is a displacement in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines” (source). What this basically means is that when looking at parallax images you get a sense of depth of field, not quite a 3D effect, but more of a sense of distance in the environment.This WordPress theme allows you to create a parallax environment. In that sense it’s a very specific type of theme that would appeal to people looking to create a sort of graphic installation. I can’t say I’m enamoured by the sea world theme they’ve gone with, but it’s interesting to see this at work nonetheless.
Author: Gopal Raju / Type: Creative / Price: $35 / Demo & Download →
3. Scroll
Scroll is a minimal horizontal scrolling portfolio and blog theme that comes in light and dark versions and is fully responsive. It allows you to set up portfolios and it is fully widgetized with sidebar and footer widget areas. This would be a solid option for a simple image or video based portfolio. I particularly like the dark version with the slight grunge element in the background.
Author: Theme Spectrum / Type: Portfolio and Blog / Price: $49 (buy 1 get 1 free) / Demo & Download →
4. COLr
COLr is another ultra minimal horizontal sliding WordPress theme that can function as a blog or a portfolio. It was developed by of my favourite independent WordPress theme designers, Greg Ponchak and it’s just a joy to behold! I love the balance between text and images and the subtle lines that bring the whole theme together. Another winner right there!
Author: Greg Ponchak / Type: Blog & Portfolio / Price: $40 / Demo & Download →
5. Shelf
Shelf is a colourful, playful and well designed tumblelog theme by the ThemeFoundry. It is a responsive theme that works well on the iPad, iPhone, and other tablets and smart phones. It supports swipe action browsing. Most of the main graphic elements, including background and logo images can be changed via the theme’s admin panel. All in all this is one of the slickest horizontal themes in the collection.
Author: ThemeFoundry / Type: Tumblelog / Price: $68 / Demo & Download →
6. Sideways
Sideways is a vibrant, youthful theme that supports both horizontal and grid based layouts. The combination of bold font treatment for post titles, a clear nagivation bar at the side and prominent image treatment will allow your visitors to get right into site content. It also comes with an ajax contact form, a range of shortcodes and various templates.
Author: EugeneO / Type: Portfolio and Blog / Price: $45 / Demo & Download →
7. Kin
As soon as you start exploring the Kind WordPress theme, it becomes clear that a lot of work has gone into making the user navigation experience slick and intuitive. This theme really works well on touch screen devices where can flow through the content with minimal movement. Kin not only makes your photos stand out but it’s feature set that includes a range of layouts, a contact form a blog section and a gallery page makes it a viable option for a more content heavy site. It has been one of ThemeForest’s best selling themes.
Author: Peerapong / Type: Portfolio and Blog / Price: $40 / Demo & Download →
8. Stuff
Stuff, as its title indicates, is a theme feared towards a horizontal tumblelog. It support text, photo, video and audio and it comes with 12 different colour schemes to choose from. One of the main features of this theme is the unlimited Facebook-like content loading function, which provides your visitor with a clear stream of content.
Author: Kubasto / Type: Tumblelog / Price: $40 / Demo & Download →
9. Horizzon
Horizzon is multipurpose wordpress theme designed to showcase your projects, posts, images and videos in horizontal scrolling form. The theme comes with unlimited color variations for backgrounds, a range of background patterns, and page by page background image customization giving you full control over your site’s page design. I really like the blog template for this theme with a clean and straightforward layout and navigation.
Author: Yashma / Type: Portfolio and Blog / Price: $35 / Demo & Download →
10. The Curator
I end this collection with one of my all time favourite themes called “The Curator”. The designer has taken the basic horizontal scrolling template model and transformed it into a sort of museum timeline theme that allows you to group content in chronological order. Its professional feel and beautiful colour palette make it a joy to look at. Among its many features, it includes: full color control of text, background and accent colors; semi-responsive layout; WordPress custom background support; control of the timeline by year, decade, century or millenium; a parallax background effect; widgets and custom logo support. Go check it out!
Author: Chris Molitor / Type: Museum and Gallery / Price: $50 / Demo & Download →
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