The WordPress native block editor (a.k.a. Gutenberg) has a Gallery block that you can use to add an image gallery to a blog post or page. However, the block offers very limited options to customize the gallery. There is no option to set the layout or set the slideshow. If you use Elementor (the Pro version), you can use the Gallery widget to create an advanced image gallery.
You can use this widget to create a filterable, tabbed gallery on your WordPress site, while also has options to set the gallery layout, set overlay, and so on.
If you don’t use Elementor or any page builder plugin on your WordPress site, you can use the following plugins to create an advanced image gallery on your WordPress site.
1. Modula
Modula is a freemium image gallery plugin developed by MachoThemes. You can use the free version of this plugin to create a basic image gallery on your WordPress. Still, the free version of Module offers more customization options than the Gutenberg default gallery block. You can, for instance, customize the text color and font size of the image captions. There are also options to enable lightbox and navigation (arrow).
The free version also comes with an option to add a hover effect and enable social media sharing on the images. The pro version of Module offers more advanced features such as the ability to password-protect your gallery, add EXIT data to images, add zoom effect, the ability to allow you users to download the images, and so on.
You can create and edit your gallery via the Modula dashboard. Modula offers a Gutenberg block to make it easy for you to add a gallery to a blog post or page. To add your gallery to Elementor, Divi Builder, or other page builder plugins, you can copy the gallery shortcode.
2. FooGallery
FooGallery is a popular enough image gallery plugin. It has over 200,000 active installations according to the stat on the WordPress plugin directory. Same as Modula above, FooGallery is also released as a freemium plugin so you can use it for free in case you just need to create a basic image gallery. FooGallery also offers gallery builder on the WordPress dashboard.
Once you have image galleries created with FooGallery, you can then use it on a blog or a page. FooGallery also offers a Gutenberg block to make it easy for you to import your gallery. Shortcode is also available for each gallery to allow you to add your gallery to page builder plugins.
One of the interesting things about FooGallery is that it offers small details like the ability to choose a loading icon, the ability to choose an image hover icon, and so on. Some pro features offered by FooGallery are:
- Video galleries
- Slider
- Pagination
- Multiple hover effects
- Front-end gallery filtering
3. NextGEN Gallery
NextGEN Gallery is another popular enough image gallery plugin for WordPress with over 800,000 active installations on the WordPress plugin directory. This plugin is a bit different from the two first plugins above. When adding a gallery to a blog post or page using the offered Gutenberg block, you can re-customize the gallery although you can also customize the gallery via the NextGEN Gallery dashboard.
If you are looking for a free image gallery that offers a slideshow feature, NextGEN Gallery is one of the options you can opt to as the free version of this plugin comes with a slideshow feature.
4. Envira Gallery
Envira Gallery is one of the best plugins to create a photography website. If you want to sell your photos via your WordPress site, Envira Gallery offers integration with WooCommerce to sell your best photos. There is also a feature to import your gallery from NextGEN in case you want to make a switch from NextGEN to Envira. Speaking of features, Envira Gallery is second to none (the pro version). You can import your photos from Dropbox.
You can also create a gallery image from your Instagram photos. Just like other plugins above, Envira also offers a Gutenberg block that you can use to add your gallery to a blog post or page, while also offering a shortcode for each gallery to allow you to add a gallery to Elementor or your favorite page builder.
You can use Envira Gallery for free although with limited features. To unlock more features, you can upgrade to the pro version of Envira. Some key features available on the pro version are:
- WooCommerce integration
- Dropbox importer
- Slideshow
- Image protection (disable right click)
- Intagram
- Pagination
- Watermarking
- Zoom
- Breadcrumbs
- Elementor integration
- Social share
5. Responsive Lightbox & Gallery
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery is another plugin that you can use to create an image gallery to your website site. This plugin is also popular enough with over 300,000 active installations. You can create image galleries via the Responsive Lightbox & Gallery dashboard and then a gallery you need on a blog post or page via a Gutenberg block or shortcode. Responsive Lightbox & Gallery offers options like enable/disable lightbox, enable/disable hover effect (there are 9 hover effects you can choose from), enable/disable pagination, and so on.
6. Photo Gallery by 10Web
Photo Gallery by 10Web is another great plugin to display your photos on your WordPress as galleries. This plugin is especially a great option if you have a photography business and want to expand your business by selling photos via your own website. The pro version of the plugin allows you to sell your photos from your gallery.
You can accept the payment via either PayPal or Stripe. In addition to creating a gallery from your WordPress media library, you can also create galleries from your Instagram photos and Google Photos. Features like social media sharing, gallery groups, and gallery videos are also available.
To add a gallery to a blog post or page, the plugin offers a Gutenberg block. Unfortunately, the Photo Gallery by 10Web plugin offers no shortcode so won’t be able to add image galleries created with this plugin to page builders like Divi Builder and Elementor.