How to Add a Photo Gallery to Your WordPress Blog
Thinking about how to add a photo gallery to your WordPress blog? It’s easier than you think!
A photo gallery makes your blog posts more engaging, helps tell your story, and keeps visitors interested. Whether you share travel pictures, product images, or portfolio work, a well-organized gallery makes your site look more professional.
The best part? You don’t need any coding skills!
In this guide, we’ll show you step-by-step how to add a photo gallery to your WordPress blog.
Let’s dive in and get started!
How to Add a Photo Gallery to Your WordPress Blog
Whether you use WordPress’s built-in gallery or a feature-rich plugin, creating a stunning photo gallery is simple.
Let’s dive into the step-by-step process!
Using the WordPress Editor
If you want to add a simple and beautiful photo gallery to your WordPress blog, you don’t need any extra plugins. WordPress’s built-in gallery feature lets you easily upload and arrange multiple images.
Here’s how you can do it step by step:
Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Go to Posts > Add New Post to create a new blog post, or choose an existing post to edit.
Click on the + button where you want the gallery. In the search bar, type Gallery and click on the Gallery block when it appears.
You have two ways to add images:
- Upload New Images: Click Upload and choose pictures from your computer.
- Choose from Media Library: Click Media Library to select uploaded images.
You can select multiple images simultaneously by holding Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) while clicking on them. Once selected, hit the Create New Gallery option.
After that, hit the Insert Gallery button to add it to your post.
Now, you can see a gallery on your post.
If you’d like, customize your gallery. Click on your Gallery block. Use the toolbar on the right to adjust how many images appear in a row (e.g., 2, 3, or more columns).
Turn on the Crop Images option to make all images the same size for a neat layout. Choose whether clicking an image will open a larger view, go to a media file, or do nothing.
Click Preview to see how your gallery looks. If everything looks good, click Publish (for new posts) or Update (for existing ones).
Done! Your photo gallery is now live on your blog. Visitors can see all your beautifully arranged images.
Pros and Cons of Using the WordPress Editor for Galleries
However, there are some advantages and disadvantages to using WordPress built-in galleries.
Pros:
- No extra plugins needed
- Quick and easy to set up
- Works smoothly with any WordPress theme
Cons:
- Limited customization (no lightbox or advanced layouts)
- No advanced filters or sorting options
Now that you know how to create a photo gallery in WordPress, you can make your blog more visual and engaging!
Do you need more features? If you want hover effects, image filters, or a lightbox, you can try gallery plugins like Modula or NextGEN Gallery.
Using a WordPress Gallery Plugin
Adding a photo gallery to your WordPress blog using the NextGEN Gallery plugin enhances your site’s visual appeal and provides advanced image management features.
Follow these detailed steps to install the plugin, create a gallery, and embed it into your posts or pages.
Installing NextGen Gallery
Log in to your WordPress admin panel. Click Plugins > Add New Plugins, then search NextGEN Gallery on the left-hand menu. Once it appears, click Install Now, then click Activate to enable the plugin on your site.
Adding Gallery
A new menu item labeled Gallery will appear in the WordPress dashboard. Click on the Gallery > Add Gallery/Images option. Ensure Create a New Gallery is selected. In the New Gallery field, enter a name for your gallery.
Below, you can drop images or Zip files.
Once your images are added, click on the Create & Select button.
After uploading, navigate to Gallery > Manage Galleries.
Select your newly created gallery to:
- Edit Image Details: Add titles, descriptions, and tags to individual images.
- Set a Preview Image: Choose a specific image to represent the gallery.
- Arrange Image Order: Drag and drop images to reorder them as desired.
Gallery Styles
Go to NextGen Gallery>Gallery Settings.
Select from various gallery styles such as:
- Slideshow: Displays images in a rotating slideshow.
- Thumbnail: Shows a grid of image thumbnails.
- ImageBrowser: Allows users to navigate through images one by one.
After configuring, click Save Options to apply your settings.
To add the gallery, navigate to Posts or Pages and select where to add the gallery. Click the + icon in the Gutenberg editor to add a new block. Search for NextGEN Gallery and select it.
In the block settings, click Add NextGen Gallery.
Choose the Insert into Page option. Under the Choose Display tab, select the gallery you created from the list. Then click the Insert Gallery button at the end of the page.
You can adjust settings specific to this instance within the block, such as display style and sorting order.
Once satisfied, click Publish (for new posts/pages) or Update (for existing ones) to make the gallery live.
Following these steps, you can integrate a feature-rich photo gallery into your WordPress blog using the NextGEN Gallery plugin.
Some Other WordPress Gallery Plugins
If you like, check out some other popular WordPress gallery plugins below.
1. MetaSlider
MetaSlider is a highly popular WordPress plugin with over 600,000 active installations. It is one of the most widely used slider plugins in the WordPress ecosystem.
Users appreciate its intuitive drag-and-drop interface for quick selection and arranging images, photos, and videos directly from the WordPress Media Library.
Moreover, it supports various slide types, including image, photo, and video slides from platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and TikTok. Additionally, it offers features like layer slides with CSS3 animations, post-feed slides, and external URL slides.
2. Photo Gallery by 10Web
Photo Gallery by 10Web is a versatile WordPress plugin designed to create responsive and mobile-friendly image galleries easily.
It offers a variety of customizable views, including Slideshow, Thumbnails, Masonry, Image Browser, Extended and Compact Album, etc. Allows you to display their media content in diverse layouts.
The plugin supports both images and videos. Hence, you can include content from platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Flickr, and Dailymotion within a single gallery. Additionally, it provides a powerful lightbox feature with 15 slideshow effects, social sharing options, etc.
3. FooGallery
With over 100,000 active installations, FooGallery has gained positive feedback for its user-friendly interface. It offers 7 pre-built templates, including responsive image galleries, masonry layouts, and carousels, allowing diverse presentation styles.
The plugin emphasizes performance with features like lazy loading and optimized code.
Moreover, it includes features like video support and dynamic filtering. The Gutenberg-ready plugin offers live previews within the editor and supports retina thumbnails for high-quality displays.
4. EnviraGallery
Envira Gallery is a user-friendly WordPress plugin designed to help users effortlessly create responsive and visually appealing photo and video galleries.
With over 100,000 downloads, it has become popular among photographers, designers, and developers. It features a drag-and-drop builder for quick uploading and media arrangement.
Moreover, the plugin is 100% responsive and mobile-friendly. Therefore, your galleries display beautifully across all devices. Also, it offers features such as albums, social media integration, various gallery templates and layouts, deep linking, pagination, etc.
5. Modula Image Gallery
Modula Image Gallery offers multiple gallery types, including creative, custom grid, and masonry layouts. It’s also fully compatible with the Gutenberg editor and integrates seamlessly with popular page builders such as Beaver Builder, Elementor, etc.
It also features lightbox effects and social sharing buttons.
It also includes image proofing, which facilitates client selections for photographers, and Instagram integration. This allows for the direct importing of Instagram images into galleries.
Other features are content galleries synchronized with posts or pages, bulk editing tools, video support for YouTube and Vimeo, and more.
Optimizing Your WordPress Photo Gallery for Performance
A slow website can make visitors leave before they even see your photos. Here’s how to keep your gallery fast and smooth:
- Resize Your Images: Large images take longer to load. Keep them around 1200 pixels wide using free tools like TinyPNG or Canva.
- Choose the Right File Type: Use JPEG for colorful photos, PNG for transparent images, and WebP for the best speed.
- Use an Image Compression Plugin: Plugins like Smush or ShortPixel shrink images without losing quality.
- Enable Lazy Loading: This allows images to load only when needed, speeding up your site. WordPress has this built-in, but plugins like a3 Lazy Load can help.
- Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network): A CDN stores images on servers worldwide so they load faster for everyone. Try Cloudflare or Jetpack.
With these quick tips, your gallery will load fast, keeping visitors happy!
Conclusion
Now you know how to add a photo gallery to your WordPress blog!
Creating a beautiful image display is quick and easy whether you use the built-in WordPress gallery or a plugin with extra features.
A well-organized gallery makes your blog more fun, keeps visitors engaged, and improves your website’s look.
Don’t forget to optimize your images for faster loading times! Try different gallery styles and layouts to see what works best for your blog.
Ready to add your first photo gallery? Start now and make your blog stand out with stunning visuals!
