gRDV Anchor Transition

Description

Anchor links are useful. The sudden jump or fast visible scroll that follows often is not.

Turn standards-compliant anchor links into a calm visual transition — whether they were created with the block editor, a theme, or a page builder.

Whether the browser jumps instantly or a theme races visibly through the page, gRDV Anchor Transition hides that distracting movement behind a configurable visual transition. The current view is covered, the browser moves instantly to the destination in the background, and the new section is revealed. Visitors arrive where they expected without watching the whole page rush past.

It works for links on the same page, links to anchors on another internal page, and back-to-top controls. No cloud account, external service, or page-builder-specific widget is required.

Why use gRDV Anchor Transition?

• Replace abrupt anchor jumps and fast scroll-to-anchor animations with a calmer, intentional transition.
• Keep long landing pages, one-page websites, tables of contents, and feature navigation visually coherent.
• Use the same effect for same-page anchors and destinations on other internal pages.
• Apply an optional offset so sticky or fixed headers do not cover the destination.
• Reuse a recognized theme or builder back-to-top control.
• Create and style a fallback back-to-top button when the site does not provide one.
• Find common anchor mistakes directly on the rendered page before visitors discover them.

A transition that fits the website

Configure the effect under Settings > Anchor Transition. Adjust:

• Cover, hold, and reveal duration.
• Maximum overlay opacity.
• Solid color or linear-gradient background.
• Easing and mobile behavior.
• Automatic fixed-header detection and adjustable spacing between the anchor target and the top edge of the page.
• Same-page, cross-page, and back-to-top behavior.

The transition has three clear phases:

1. Cover: the overlay fades in and hides the current view.
2. Move: the browser positions the destination instantly while the page is covered. An optional hold time can add a deliberate pause.
3. Reveal: the overlay fades out and presents the destination.

Start with the supplied defaults, then adjust cover and reveal duration together. A short hold time feels responsive; a longer one creates a more noticeable scene change.

Your own back-to-top button, when needed

WordPress itself does not add a universal floating back-to-top control, while some themes and builders provide one. The plugin first looks for a recognized existing control and routes it through the configured transition.

If none is present, an optional fallback button can be created with its own:

• Left or right placement.
• Horizontal and vertical edge distance in pixels.
• Background and icon color.
• Arrow, chevron, triangle, or double-arrow icon.
• Round, rounded, or square shape.
• Scroll distance at which the button becomes visible.

Pixel offsets help keep the button clear of cookie controls, chat bubbles, and other floating widgets. Styling options affect only the plugin-provided fallback button; existing theme and builder controls retain their own design.

Catch broken anchors before visitors do

Administrators receive an Anchor Check entry in the front-end toolbar. It examines the page as it is actually rendered by WordPress, the active theme, and the page builder. The checker reports:

• Links whose target ID is missing on the current page.
• Duplicate IDs in the rendered page.
• IDs that differ only by letter case.
• Empty ID attributes.
• Empty hash links.
• Invalid encoded anchor links.

Affected elements can be highlighted directly on the page. The check does not edit content, crawl the whole website, or save a report.

Built for rendered HTML, not one specific builder

The plugin works with standard HTML anchor links and IDs. This makes it suitable for the block editor and block themes, classic themes, and builders such as Divi, Elementor, Bricks, Breakdance, Beaver Builder, Oxygen, and WPBakery.

Common tabs, accordions, popups, responsive navigation controls, and builder editing modes keep their original behavior. Individual links or components can also be excluded with the grat-no-transition class, the data-gr-anchor-transition="off" attribute, or a custom CSS selector.

Local by design

The plugin does not collect, transmit, or permanently store visitor data. It does not use cookies, analytics, external APIs, CDNs, or remote assets.

For a link to an anchor on another internal page, it temporarily places only the destination path, query, anchor, and timestamp in the browser’s session storage. The entry is removed when the destination reads it and expires after ten seconds. Checker results remain in the current administrator’s browser tab and disappear when the panel or page is closed.

Accessibility

The plugin respects the visitor’s prefers-reduced-motion setting and skips the visual transition when reduced motion is requested. After anchor navigation, keyboard focus is moved to the destination. The fallback back-to-top button includes an accessible label and keyboard focus style. The plugin does not claim to certify accessibility compliance.