The arrow every visitor arrives with is the one part of your design you did not choose.
The Mouse Cursor block replaces it — across the whole page, or only inside one section or one block.
Before You Start
- Edition: Pro — the Mouse Cursor block is part of Nexter Blocks Pro.
- Block to enable: Mouse Cursor, switched on under Nexter > Blocks in your WordPress dashboard.
- A Nexter Container if you want to target a row or column rather than the page.
Steps
- Add the Mouse Cursor block and click Design from Scratch.
- Set Cursor Area to Body.
- Choose a Type — a plain cursor icon, or an image, a word or a circle that follows the pointer.
- Fill in what that type needs, then set Cursor Left Offset and Cursor Top Offset if the follower sits awkwardly.
- Publish and move your mouse over the page.
Where the block sits decides what it affects. For Body it can go anywhere on the page. For Row and Column it must be inside a Nexter Container. For Block it must come immediately after the block you want to change.
Cursor Area: What Each One Needs
| Area | What it changes | Where the block must go |
|---|---|---|
| Body | The whole page | Anywhere on the page |
| Row | One section | Inside a Nexter Container |
| Column | One column | Inside a Nexter Container column |
| Block | A single block | Immediately after that block |
The Four Types
| Type | What the visitor sees | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor Icon | The pointer becomes a different standard cursor, such as a grab hand | — |
| Follow Image | A picture trails the pointer | Follow image cursor |
| Follow Text | A word trails the pointer | Follow text cursor |
| Follow Circle | A circle trails the pointer — plain, a scroll progress ring, or blended | Follow circle cursor |
How It Behaves
- The followers really do follow. Measured by moving the mouse: the image, text and circle all moved with the pointer across the page.
- Cursor Icon is different from the rest. It adds no element — it sets the CSS cursor, so the page computes
cursor: graband the visitor sees a standard system cursor. - A custom cursor shows while the pointer is over your content and the ordinary pointer returns over empty page background — measured on the front end. That is normal, not a fault.
- Cursor Left Offset and Cursor Top Offset shift the follower away from the pointer. Both start at 10, which is why it sits slightly below and to the right.
- Mouse Cursor Click swaps the follower while the visitor hovers a link. With a follow text of Explore and a click text of See More, the word really changed over a link and changed back afterwards. Which tags count is set by List of Tags for Hover Effect, which starts as
a.
Limitations
- Pro only.
- Row and Column do nothing outside a Nexter Container. In an ordinary group or a theme layout there is no matching section for the block to attach to, and nothing happens.
- Block does nothing if there is no block before it. Put the Mouse Cursor block first in a container and it silently has no effect.
- There is no cursor on a touch screen, so none of this reaches phone or tablet visitors.
- A follower that lags or covers content makes clicking harder. Keep it small and keep the offsets modest.
Troubleshooting
Nothing changes at all
Almost always placement. Check the table above — Row and Column need a Nexter Container, and Block needs a block directly above it.
It works in some places but not others
The custom cursor covers your content, not the empty space around it. Over blank page background the normal pointer comes back.
The follower sits away from the pointer
Set Cursor Left Offset and Cursor Top Offset to 0 to sit exactly on it.
Nothing happens on my phone
Touch screens have no cursor. This block is for mouse users only.
The block is missing from the inserter
Switch Mouse Cursor on under Nexter > Blocks in your dashboard.
