WordPress is a pretty good content management system that can be made flexible to accommodate any kind of requirement. When we are talking about a content management system, we are talking about a tool that can create websites without a single line of code.

This tool should even be able to accommodate different kinds of pages, and one such page is the main page or the homepage. In most of the cases, a home page will contain a slider. This slider is nothing but a collection of various images or videos, in a certain animated way.

To create such home pages the slider Revolution, which is a popular WordPress plugin, is used. This plugin can be used to create responsive sliders that can fit in any size like mobiles, tabs, etc. In addition, this slider can create carousels and content presentations.

All these can be created without a single line of code. Along with the plugin, you will get a visual editor where you can dynamically design slideshows and customize animations. This plugin has faced several vulnerabilities over the past few years. 

It is important for us to evaluate the security risks and explore better alternatives like depicter that offer the same functionality in modern technology and fewer security issues.

Overview of Slider Revolution 

When we think of revolution slider the first thing that comes to every one of our minds is an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, It’s seamless integration of images, videos, text, and buttons into the slides making it a versatile tool for building engaging and interactive web content.

The key features of the tool includes

• A visual editor that is easy to use with a real time preview
• Pre-built templates that offer a collection of templates for various use cases
• Responsive design that can automatically adjust to different-sized screens and devices
• Animation and effects that allow custom parallax effects and transitions
• SEO Optimization that supports text inside these slides improves search engine visibility
• Enumerable addons that ease the functionality like social media integration and special effects

Vulnerabilities in Slider Evolution. 

Though it is more popular among people for its feature-rich interface, the lesser known facts about it is its security vulnerabilities in the past. Due to these vulnerabilities, the websites developed using this plugin may be exploited by attackers, potentially leading to defacement of the site or even data theft, ending up completely taken over by hackers. 

Major security incidents. 

2014, critical vulnerability. In 2014, this plugin had a very well-known vulnerability. This was such a blatant vulnerability that it was related to a local file inclusion. The local file inclusion vulnerability allows attackers to access sensitive files like wp-config.php, which is a very important file that contains database credentials. 

You would be knowing what a flaw it is to include, to have been attacked to such an extent that even the WP config file is attacked. This popular attack puts a lot of WordPress sites at stake and forced many users to update the plugins or remove them to fix the loophole. 

Unauthorized access. 

Several times this has been prone to have had vulnerability issues when the plugin is not updated. Most of the people are not well-versed in updating plugins, which compromises the WordPress site.

Cross-site scripting. 

Some versions of slide of evolution have been thrown to malicious injections. That is, malicious scripts can be injected into this website using this plugin. These sliders will act as a gate for various malicious scripts. 

These scripts can steal user data or even hijack sessions, causing reputational damage. 

Why these vulnerabilities matter? 

Because the Slider Revolution is always visible on the homepage of every other site, it is easier for hackers to understand that this plugin is installed in the first place, and the attackers can easily exploit the situation, taking over the control of the website, injecting malicious code, and stealing sensitive data. 

This makes it crucial for site administrators to stay vigilant all the time with regular updates to the website. By failing which, the site will be attacked. 

Due to these issues, let us focus on what else can we use instead of slide revolution. The better choice that uses modern technology is by default, a plugin called Depictor. Depictor does not only match the slide revolution features, at the same time, it adds security patches regularly and is not prone to malicious scripting script attacks, making it a better choice.

In addition to that, the look and feel of this and the technology that is JavaScript that is used is much more efficient in terms of the loading time, page weights, etc. 

Why Depictor is a superior choice? 

Security focus

Depictor is developed keeping in mind the security, ensuring regular updates, adhering to latest security standards. The development of this plugin emphasizes that vulnerability is completely managed and is not prone to constant attacks, making it a safer choice for WordPress users. 

User-friendly interface

Because of the modern technology that is being used to develop this plugin, the learning curve is really minimal, and the visually appealing sliders are very very attractive to look at making it the best choice when it comes to look and feel, being responsive and fast. 

These sliders can fit into any screen, and they have a separate interfaces and tools to create sliders for different devices. You can place the texts and images based on the screen size right out of the box. 

Pedesign the templates

This, again, out of the box comes with predefined templates and libraries that makes it easy not to create everything from scratch. You can use these built-in design templates and start from an already created design.

Free version

While Slider Revolution only comes as a premium plugin, the Depictor plugin has both free version and premium version. The free version is more than enough for regular designs. 

The compatibility 

The depictor plugin integrates with most website builders, seamlessly. All you have to do is just add going to the builder and you will be suggested with the Depictor Slider, which makes it easy to implement. 

There are many alternatives other than the Depictor and Slider Revolution. Let’s see in the next section, the other alternatives to consider. 

Other alternatives to consider

If Depictor doesn’t fit your needs, there are other sliders that can do this job. Some of them are listed below. 

Smart Slider. 

Even this offers a visual editor with custom templates along with responsive design features. It has got regular security updates with user interface that is very good to work with. 

Soliloquy. 

This is a pretty lightweight, SEO-friendly slider that is very modern and easy to use. It loads really fast and has an excellent performance with minimal impact on site speed. Due to its frequent updates and robust support, it has high security. It is highly secure.

Meta Slider

Meta Slider is another lightweight option that focuses on simplicity and performance. It’s suitable for beginners who are not very well-versed with WordPress, who can add a basic and responsive Slider onto a website seamlessly. 

Conclusion

Even though the most popular Slider, that is the Revolution Slider, comes with loads of features that are feature-rich. Due to its history of vulnerabilities, it is always important not to use this Slider. Instead, you can use alternatives like Dépictor, Smart Slider, and the other ones that we have mentioned in the previous section. 

Prioritizing security is key in keeping your WordPress clean and safe from attacks. This in turn makes it well maintained, and this can be achieved using plugins like Depictor, keeping in mind a vision for your websites.