MouseWheel Smooth Scroll

83 Quality Score

Active Installs

22/30

100,000 active installs is solid for a single-purpose UX plugin, though it sits well behind category leaders like WPFront Scroll Top at 200,000.

Update Freshness

25/25

Last updated March 2026 and tested against WordPress 6.9.4, the maintenance signal is excellent and suggests active upkeep.

User Rating

14/15

A 90 out of 100 rating from 43 reviewers is strong, though the small sample size limits how much weight you can put on it.

Support Health

8/15

Zero support threads is unusual and could mean the plugin works without issues, or it could mean the author does not actively field questions in the support forum.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Compatible with WordPress 3.0.1 through 6.9.4 with no PHP version requirement, giving it very broad compatibility.

Scores higher than 90% of indexed plugins

About

Smooth scrolling experience, with mousewheel, touchpad or keyboard

Active Installs 90k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.5/5

Last Updated 2026-03-19 1:26pm GMT

Requires WordPress 3.0.1+

Tested Up To 6.9.7

Security History

1 known vulnerability, all patched

1 Medium

Most recent: October 18, 2021

View details ▸

What It Does

MouseWheel Smooth Scroll replaces the default browser scroll behaviour with a smoother animated scroll triggered by mousewheel, touchpad, or keyboard inputs. It applies a global JavaScript-driven easing effect across your entire site without per-page configuration. The plugin is essentially a one-click toggle that softens how visitors move through long pages.

Who It's For

This plugin is a good fit for content-heavy sites where visitors scroll through long articles, portfolios, property listings, or product pages and a polished feel matters. It works well for creative agencies, online magazines, real estate listings, and SaaS landing pages that want a more refined browsing experience without custom development.

Who Should Skip It

If your site is short, mostly above-the-fold, or you already use a theme or page builder with built-in smooth scroll, this plugin adds nothing. Sites that prioritize raw performance, accessibility tooling, or already rely on anchor-link plugins should skip it as well.

The Bottom Line

MouseWheel Smooth Scroll delivers exactly what it promises with strong maintenance signals and a healthy install base, earning an overall quality score of 83.39 out of 100. The lack of support threads is a minor yellow flag, but for sites that just want smoother default scrolling, it is a low-risk choice. It is not a feature-rich plugin, so anyone needing anchor-link targeting, back-to-top buttons, or inertia-based scrolling should look at the alternatives.

Related Plugins

WPFront Scroll Top 86/100

Pick this if you also want a back-to-top button alongside scroll smoothing, since it covers both features in one package.

Page scroll to id 85/100

Pick this when you need smooth scrolling specifically tied to anchor links and in-page navigation menus rather than global wheel behaviour.

jQuery Smooth Scroll 79/100

Pick this lightweight alternative if you want similar basic smooth-scroll behaviour with a smaller dependency footprint.

Smooth scrolling with Lenis 77/100

Pick this if you want a modern, inertia-based scroll feel powered by the Lenis library rather than a basic easing script.

Smooth Page Scroll Up/Down Buttons 77/100

Pick this if your priority is adding visible up and down scroll buttons rather than changing mousewheel behaviour.