By Editorial Staff | Reviewed by Syed Balkhi | October 23, 2024 | Reader Disclosure

At times, simply incorporating images and visuals isn’t sufficient to capture the attention of your visitors.

This is where image hotspots come into play. These interactive areas transform an ordinary image into an engaging and informative experience for your audience. We’ve utilized them to display locations on a map, label team members in photos, and emphasize features of products.

If you’re curious about how to achieve this, you’ve come to the right spot. This guide will demonstrate 2 straightforward methods to create image hotspots for your WordPress site without any coding required.

Image hotspots are interactive areas on images that allow users to engage with the content in a dynamic way. But when is it beneficial to include hotspots in your images?

A prime opportunity to utilize hotspots is when you aim to showcase the various features of a product image.

For instance, if you are marketing a new smartphone, you can integrate hotspots that highlight its camera, display, and other functionalities. This approach enables potential customers to gather information about the product without having to sift through extensive text.

Many home goods retailers also make use of image hotspots to emphasize the details of products featured in curated photographs.

Hotspots offer an excellent way to create engaging infographics and enhance data visualization. Instead of overwhelming viewers with all the information at once, you can reveal additional details through clickable hotspots. This allows users to interact with the infographic by clicking on various sections to uncover more insights.

If you operate an eLearning platform, incorporating hotspots can significantly enhance the user experience, making your lessons more interactive. For instance, you might place hotspots on a map to allow students to click and discover information about different countries or landmarks.

With this perspective, let’s explore how to effortlessly integrate image hotspots into your WordPress site. We have outlined two methods, and you can use the quick links below to navigate the article:

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This initial approach utilizes SeedProd, a reliable drag-and-drop page builder, to integrate image hotspots into your WordPress site. This method is particularly beneficial if you’re designing a bespoke landing page or a custom WordPress theme and wish to employ a platform that includes an image hotspot feature.

What we appreciate about SeedProd is its extensive selection of over 350 landing page templates and theme kits available for various industry sectors, ranging from online boutiques and cleaning services to SaaS businesses. Hence, there is a suitable choice for every type of website.

However, it’s important to note that if you’re in search of a free method to create image hotspots, this option might not meet your needs. The reason being, SeedProd’s hotspot functionality is only accessible with the paid versions of SeedProd. In such cases, we suggest considering the second method.

For further details regarding the plugin’s capabilities and pricing, please refer to our SeedProd review.

After acquiring a SeedProd plan, the next step is to download and install the WordPress plugin from your admin dashboard. Following this, proceed to SeedProd » Settings and input your license key, which can be located on your SeedProd account page.

Once you have entered the key, simply click ‘Verify Key.’

Next, go to SeedProd » Landing Pages.

Finally, click on ‘Add New Landing Page.’

Explore the variety of templates available through SeedProd. Options include a viral waitlist landing page, a Google ad landing page, a coming soon page, and additional choices.

Take your time to scroll through the options and preview each one to find the perfect fit for your requirements.

After selecting a template, simply hover over your choice.

Next, click the orange checkmark button to confirm your selection.

A new popup will emerge, prompting you to enter the page’s name and provide its URL slug.

Once you complete that, click on ‘Save and Start Editing the Page.’

This action will launch the SeedProd drag-and-drop editor.

The editor functions very similarly to the WordPress block editor, allowing you to drag and drop blocks onto the page and click on them to customize them to your preference.

To create image hotspots, locate the ‘Hotspot’ block in the left sidebar.

Simply drag and drop it onto your page.

After that, upload the WordPress image you wish to enhance with hotspots.

This can be done by selecting the ‘Hotspot’ block and choosing either ‘Use Your Own Image’ or ‘Use a Stock Image’ to pick an image.

The initial choice will lead you to the media library, where you can select an existing image or upload a new one. If the file size is quite large, consider referring to our guide on how to handle large image uploads in WordPress.

Once you’ve uploaded an image, it’s important to enter some alt text to describe the image for search engines and screen-reading tools.

You also have the option to adjust the image size and alignment as per your preferences.

Following that, you can proceed to add your hotspots.

To proceed, simply click on the ‘+ Add Hotspot’ button.

An orange dot will now show up on your image. You can modify its location by dragging the horizontal and vertical orientation controls.

Moreover, you can add the text that will be displayed when a user’s cursor hovers over the hotspot.

As you continue, you have the option to alter the color of the hotspot.

Simply click on the ‘Color’ settings to select a color that aligns with your brand and the overall design of your website.

If you continue scrolling down, you’ll find an option to activate the ‘Advanced Settings’ toggle.

This section allows you to include a link in your hotspot’s tooltip text, enabling users to be directed to your chosen page.

Additionally, you have the option to select a custom icon to take the place of the standard circle shape.

To begin, simply click the ‘Choose Icon’ button.

A popup will show up, allowing you to select from a variety of icons available in SeedProd’s library. If you require additional options, you can also choose icons from Font Awesome.

To select an icon, just click on it.

After selecting an icon, you can adjust the ‘Icon Size’ slider to customize the size according to your liking.

You can proceed to replicate these steps to craft additional interactive image hotspots.

Next, you have the opportunity to incorporate an animated effect into your image hotspots. The two available options are ‘Soft Beat’ and ‘Expand.’

Now, let’s transition to the ‘Tooltip’ section.

In this area, you can adjust the tooltip’s position (to the right, left, above, or below the hotspot) and modify the trigger settings.

Selecting ‘Click’ means the tooltip will be displayed when a user clicks on the hotspot, while choosing ‘Hover’ indicates that the tooltip will show up when the cursor hovers over it.

Additionally, you can modify the tooltip’s appearance duration.

This duration refers to how long it takes for the tooltip to appear after the user either hovers over or clicks the hotspot. Setting it to 0 will cause the text to appear instantly.

Furthermore, you have the option to disable the tooltip’s arrow based on your preferences.

Now, if you switch to the ‘Advanced’ tab, you can further customize the appearance of the image.

For instance, you have the option to add a box shadow or modify the padding and margin.

After you finish making your adjustments, simply click the ‘Save’ button in the upper right corner.

Next, click ‘Publish’ to make the page available to the public.

And that’s it! Ensure that you check how the page appears on mobile, desktop, and tablet to confirm it looks great across all devices.

Here’s a snapshot of what our interactive image hotspot resembles:

If using a page builder and changing your theme seems a bit overwhelming, you can opt for the free WordPress Image Hotspot plugin instead. This plugin serves as an excellent alternative to the first method, though it’s important to note that the free version allows only up to 6 hotspots on a single image.

To get started with Image Hotspot, you can install and activate the WordPress plugin from your admin area. After that, navigate to Image Map Hotspot » All Image Map Hotspot and click on the ‘Add New’ button.

Next, name your new image map hotspot. After that, choose one of the options for displaying tooltips. You can set it up so that the tooltips show up when you hover over the hotspot or when you click on it.

Once you’ve made your selections, click ‘Save’ to proceed.

Now that this step is complete, let’s move on to adding your image.

To accomplish this, simply click on the ‘Upload Image’ button.

This action will bring up the media library, allowing you to either upload a new image or choose one from your existing collection.

After that, proceed to add hotspots to your image map by simply clicking on the ‘Add Point’ button.

A popup window will appear, enabling you to set up your interactive image hotspot.

Begin by going to the ‘Marker’ tab. Here, you can personalize the appearance of the hotspot image. To modify the icons, just click the ‘+’ sign next to the ‘Icons’ and/or ‘Hover Icons’ options.

‘Icons’ denotes the standard symbol used for a hotspot when it is neither being clicked nor hovered over. On the other hand, ‘Hover Icons’ are the symbols that become visible when the user interacts with the hotspot by clicking or hovering.

You can now select an icon to replace the standard default option. The plugin offers a wide selection to choose from.

After making your selection, simply click on it and press the ‘Close’ button.

Once your hotspot images are configured, you can change the colors of the icons.

The plugin allows you to differentiate between the default color of the hotspot icon and the color when it is hovered over. This feature helps users to easily recognize when a hotspot is active during clicks or hovers.

To modify the color, simply click on the square button for color selection and choose your preferred color.

After making your selection, you can click anywhere on the page to proceed to the next setting.

Additionally, you have the option to adjust the size of the hotspot icon on desktop. A larger number will result in a bigger icon.

When you are satisfied with how the icon looks, simply click ‘Save.’

Next, navigate to the ‘Content’ tab. Here, you can tailor the tooltip’s text and design.

The plugin offers four templates, allowing you to select the one that aligns perfectly with your website’s aesthetics.

Additionally, ensure that you update the default title content with your personalized text.

Depending on your website design, you may want to increase the font size and adjust the text color to enhance readability.

Once you are pleased with the settings, just click ‘Save.’

The final tab is ‘link.’ Here, you can choose to make your tooltip text clickable, allowing users to be taken to another page.

If you wish to do this, select ‘Yes’ in the ‘Do you Link Title?’ option.

Afterward, place your title link URL in the designated field and select your preference for opening the link in a new tab.

Once you’re done, click ‘Save.’

A new hotspot should then be visible on your image, which you can move to your preferred location.

You can also follow the same procedure to add additional image hotspots.

Once you’ve set up your image map, proceed by clicking the ‘Save’ button again.

To incorporate the image hotspot into any of your pages, posts, or widgets, simply copy the shortcode located above the image.

Next, paste the shortcode within a shortcode block on your widget, page, or post using the block editor. For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive guide on how to add and use shortcodes in WordPress.

This is how our interactive image hotspot appears:

In addition to creating interactive image hotspots, there are numerous other strategies to enhance the engagement of your website design. Here are some helpful guides to explore:

We trust this article has assisted you in discovering how to seamlessly incorporate image hotspots in WordPress. You might also find value in our comprehensive guide focusing on WordPress sidebar tricks to maximize your results, as well as our expert recommendations for the best WordPress theme builders.

If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Additionally, you can connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.

Syed Balkhi

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