Do you want to upload only photos, or do you need video and audio galleries as well? The 7 Top Gallery Plugins for WordPress Now that you know how to pick the best WordPress gallery plugin for you, we’ll take a look at some of my favorites. You can install this plugin for free, but to get advanced features like watermarks, you’ll need to pay for the premium version. Modula Image Gallery Modula Image Gallery is one of the lightest and most responsive image gallery plugins available on WordPress. As you can see, it’s very easy to add photos and change the settings of the responsive gallery. You can also manage video galleries on your WordPress site with the FooGallery plugin. In addition to photos, Envira Gallery has options for video galleries. It’s great for sites that want to upload a ton of content at once, while still staying organized. Gmedia Photo Gallery Just like Flagallery, the Gmedia Photo Gallery plugin lets you play music on your website, as well as displays photo and video albums. Photo Gallery by 10Web – Responsive Image Gallery Photo Gallery by 10Web is a top choice to consider because it offers so many different options for showcasing images.
Out of 3,000 gallery plugins, there are 7 to consider adding to your website
If you search for “gallery” on the WordPress plugins page, you’ll see nearly 3,000 results to choose from.
To say that number is overwhelming is an understatement.
Who has time to go through all of those plugins to determine which one is the best? Fortunately, you don’t have to. I’ve narrowed down the list to the 7 best WordPress gallery plugins for 2019.
Why You Need a Gallery Plugin
Without a gallery plugin, you’ll be forced to use the basic image gallery that’s built into the core feature set of WordPress. Does this work? Yes. But it’s extremely limiting, and you’ll never be able to take your web design to the next level with this gallery.
To add visual elements to your website that will stun your visitors and provide them with a user-friendly viewing experience, you need to install a gallery plugin.
Depending on your needs, you can find free gallery plugins, as well as paid gallery plugins. I’ve done my best to identify the best ones for different purposes, so there’s something for everyone on my list of the top seven gallery plugins that I recommend for WordPress sites.
How to Choose a WordPress Gallery Plugin
Before we dive in and look at the list, there are certain things that you should keep in mind during your search for a gallery plugin.
- Speed — Adding lots of images to your website can impact your website loading time. You want a lightweight plugin that won’t slow your site down, even as you upload more photos.
- Features — Are you just looking for grids, or do you want slideshow options? Do you want to upload only photos, or do you need video and audio galleries as well? Will you need ecommerce integration? These are just a few of the feature sets you should think about when you choose a plugin.
- Usability — Sure, having a plugin that’s packed with features is great, but not at the cost of its ease of use. Some plugins are designed for developers and people who are a bit more tech-savvy, while others have drag-and-drop features that are really easy to use, regardless of your technical abilities.
- Price — The majority of gallery plugins have a freemium version. In most cases, though, you’ll probably have to upgrade to a pro version to access the top features. You’ll want to check the feature sets for each pricing level.
The 7 Top Gallery Plugins for WordPress
Now that you know how to pick the best WordPress gallery plugin for you, we’ll take a look at some of my favorites.
1. NextGEN Gallery
With more than 900,000 active installations, NextGEN Gallery is one of the most popular WordPress gallery plugins on the market.
It’s so popular because it offers a lot of gallery options. Unlike other plugins, there isn’t one typical or standard NextGEN gallery.
You’ll first choose between the two main styles: slideshow or thumbnail. From there, you’ll decide if you want a compact or extended album style. Then, you’ll have nearly limitless choices for size, transitions, effects, timing, and things of that nature.
As you can see from this example thumbnail gallery, this plugin is perfect for photographers and artists to showcase their latest work. You can add watermarks and hotlink protection as well, which is a great feature. The lightbox galleries have deep linking options too.
But NextGEN Gallery offers much more than that. They also have ecommerce functionality, so you can sell images on your website.
You can install this plugin for free, but to get advanced features like watermarks, you’ll need to pay for the premium version.
2. Modula Image Gallery
Modula Image Gallery is one of the lightest and most responsive image gallery plugins available on WordPress. I like it because you can create galleries that are unique and fully customizable.
In addition to images, Modula lets you share video galleries as well.
This plugin has a custom grid feature — you can manually change the size of each image within the gallery. Just navigate to the custom grid option and control dimensions like height, width, and aspect ratio by simply dragging the corners of an image.
Modula Image Gallery is great for beginners, as well as more advanced WordPress users. That’s because you can apply CSS to separate galleries.
The free plugin will be suitable for most WordPress…
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