The right combination of JavaScript plugins can turn a simple website into a fantastic one - all while requiring minimal work on your behalf. Today, we'll review forty of the most popular plugins available. If we missed some, let us know in the comments!

Form Validation

jQuery Validate

A plugin that allows you to build client-side validation and Ajax forms.

JQuery Validate

MooTools Validate

A MooTools form validation plugin (similar to jQuery Validate).

MooTools Validate

JSValidate

JSValidate is a form validator that utilizes aspects of the Prototype and Scriptaculous library to bring you a simple to execute, non-intrusive JavaScript form validator. With minimal setup, your forms can be processing clean data in no time at all.

JSValidate

Form Styling

FancyForm - MooTools

A MooTools plugin that replaces the browser default checkboxes and radio buttons with custom styles.

FancyForm - MooTools

PrettyCheckboxes - jQuery

Same as FancyForm, but using jQuery library.

PrettyCheckboxes - jQuery

jQuery Selectbox Plugin

A simple plugin that allows you to replace the form select list with custom styles.

jQuery Selectbox Plugin

Unobtrusive Slider Control V2

This script lets you create custom slider controls associated with input fields.

Unobtrusive Slider Control V2

Custom Checkboxes, Radio Buttons, Select Lists

Give your form a complete makeover.

Custom Checkboxes

Images

Lightbox

Youíre probably very familiar with Lightbox. If not, this is used to display overlay images on the current page.

Lightbox

jQuery lightBox Plugin

This is exactly the same as Lightbox JS, but written on top of jQuery library.

jQuery lightBox Plugin

Thickbox

Thickbox is a jQuery plugin that is very similar to Lightbox, but comes with more features. It allows you to display: single images, multiple images, inline content, iframed content, or content served through AJAX in a hybrid modal.

Thickbox

Highslide JS

Highslide JS serves the same purposes as Thickbox, but it has the zoom effect and allows you to drag the overlay window.

Highslide JS

FancyBox

FancyBox is a jQuery plugin that is designed to replace the overused Lightbox. It has similar features, but better transition effects (the design is Mac-like).

FancyBox

jQZoom

jQZoom allows you to show a magnified image of the thumbnail. This technique is commonly used in eCommerce websites.

jQZoom

Gallery and Slideshow

Slideshow 2! for MooTools

Slideshow 2! is a JavaScript class for MooTools 1.2 to stream and animate the presentation of images on your website.

Slideshow 2! for MooTools

SmoothGallery

Using MooTools v1.11, this JavaScript gallery and slideshow system allows you to have simple and smooth (cross-fading) image galleries, slideshows, showcases and other cool stuff on your website.

SmoothGallery

jQuery Galleria

Galleria is a JavaScript image gallery written in jQuery. It loads the images one by one from an unordered list and displays thumbnails when each image is loaded. It will create thumbnails for you if you choose so, scaled or unscaled, centered and cropped inside a fixed thumbnail box defined by CSS.

jQuery Galleria

Noobslide

NoobSlide is a MooTools class that lets you create timed slideshows and sliding panels.

Noobslide

Product Slider

This shows a demonstration of a slider widget from the jQuery UI library used to create the product slider.

Product Slider

Panel Slider

Coda Slider Plugin

Coda Slider is a jQuery plugin that imitates the panel sliding effects as seen on Slideshow 2! for MooTools coda website.

Coda Slider Plugin

jQuery Coda Slide Tutorial

This is a tutorial from jQuery For Designers to show you how to create the Coda panel slider.

Sliding Tabs

Sliding Tabs is a MooTools 1.11 plugin which adds a pretty neat effect. It's a clone of something seen on Panic Software's Coda site, which in turn was very similar to a widget used in the iTunes Music Store.

Sliding Tabs

Carousel

jCarousel

jCarousel is a jQuery plugin for controlling a list of items in horizontal or vertical order. The items, which can be static HTML content or loaded with (or without) AJAX, and can be scrolled back and forth (with or without animation).

jCarousel

YUI Carousel Component

The carousel component manages a list of content (HTML LI elements within a UL) that can be displayed horizontally or vertically. The content can be scrolled back and forth with or without animation. It can reference static HTML content or the list items can be created dynamically on-the-fly (with or without Ajax).

YUI Carousel Component

DynamicDrive - Carousel Slideshow

Carousel Slideshow is a fabulous DHTML script for showcasing of images on your site. It displays images in a 3D, carousel fashion.

DynamicDrive - Carousel Slideshow

iCarousel - MooTools

iCarousel is an open source (free) JavaScript tool for creating carousel like widgets. You can use iCarousel as news ticker/scroller or image gallery slider.

iCarousel - MooTools

Tabs

jQuery UI Tabs

jQuery Tabs is a powerful and flexible jQuery plugin that lets you create customizable tab navigation (highly recommended).

jQuery UI Tabs

jQuery Tabs Tutorial

Another awesome tutorial from jQueryForDesigners.com that shows you how to create a basic tab navigation with jQuery.

jQuery Tabs Tutorial

MooTabs

MooTabs is a tiny(3kb) class for MooTools. As the name suggests, its primary purpose is to help out with the creation of simple tab navigation.

MooTabs

Scroll to Anchor

jQuery ScrollTo

A very flexible jQuery plugin that lets you create scrolling animation to any position of a web page with customizable erasing and speed options.

jQuery ScrollTo

SmoothScroll

A simple MooTools script that creates smooth scrolling to anchors on a web page.

SmoothScroll

Tooltips

jTips

A customizable jQuery plugin that displays tooltip popups with either static text or Ajax content.

jTips

jQuery Tooltip Plugin

Another nice Tooltip plugin.

jQuery Tooltip Plugin

Tooltip and Image Preview

A very simple jQuery script that displays tooltips and image previews.

Tooltip and Image Preview

Accordions

jQuery Accordion

This plugin creates an accordion menu. It works with nested lists, definition lists, or just nested divs.

jQuery Accordion

MooTools Accordion

The Accordion gives you a fancy way to show only the content you really need.

MooTools Accordion

MooTools Image Menu

Image Menu is a MooTools plugin that creates the horizontal accordion image menu.

MooTools Image Menu

Flash and Image Text Replacement

sIFR 3

sIFR is meant to replace short passages of plain browser text with text rendered in your typeface of choice, regardless of whether or not your users have that font installed on their systems. It accomplishes this by using a combination of JavaScript, CSS, and Flash.

sIFR 3

jQuery sIFR

A jQuery plugin that does the sIFR for you.

jQuery sIFR

FLIR

Facelift Image Replacement is an image replacement script that dynamically generates image representations of text on your web page in fonts that otherwise might not be visible to your visitors. The generated image will be automatically inserted into your web page via JavaScript and visible to all modern browsers.

FLIR

CSS Stylesheet Switcher

Switch Stylesheets with jQuery

Stylesheet switcher with jQuery.

Switch Stylesheets with jQuery

MooTools Styleswitcher

CSS stylesheet switcher with MooTools.

MooTools Styleswitcher

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