Images are one of the key factors to engage readers as soon as they visit your WordPress website, it adds life and color to your site and you can even use it in your branding. Many WordPress users create photo galleries at some point; this is the reason why WordPress comes with a built-in gallery feature. However, its default gallery lacks the functionality, capability and appeal that a lot of users are looking for these days.
Today, there are many WordPress image gallery plugins available on the web that you can choose from that offers features which can improve the display images of your site from editing images to enabling 3D displays. Some are extremely functional and difficult to learn while some are basic and easy to use.
All of these plugins are free but some have premium versions that you can purchase if you want to upgrade. Choosing the proper WordPress image gallery plugin can enhance the visual appeal of your image galleries as well as improve overall user experience.
Below is a list of the 5 best WordPress gallery plugins out there which can provide you with everything you need to create an amazing image gallery.
Read Also —
8 Best Lead Generation Plugins For WordPress in 2017
7 Sensational Image optimization plugins to speed up your WordPress Website
1. ENVIRA GALLERY
Download Here
Envira Gallery is a very popular and high quality WordPress image gallery plugin with over 80K active installs. This plugin loads galleries fast, provides the easiest-to-use interface and each gallery you create will be responsive to any mobile device and can be shared to social media platforms, plus it even allows you to import Instagram images to your galleries. You can also do various customizations including thumbnail sizes, animations, layouts etc., and create one-of-a-kind galleries in no time. The lite version, which is free, comes with only one gallery theme for you to explore but if you want more features, you can always upgrade to the premium version.
2. NEXTGEN GALLERY
Download Here
NextGen is probably the most popular image gallery plugin to date. Although it does not fair in the rankings it still boasts of over 1 million active installs making it the mother of all WordPress gallery plugins. NextGen provides users with a full management system for your galleries, upload it by batch, manage individual images, edit thumbnails and so much more. You can even make group galleries into albums and different other features that can make your blog attractive. NextGen places a button in the WordPress visual editor, but you will not see this button if you’re using the text editor.
3. FOO GALLERY
Download Here
Foo Gallery uses an approach identical to Envira Gallery. It allows you to easily build photo galleries in various formats with the use of simple user interface that has the WordPress feel. It’s completely responsive and comes with a number of gallery templates. Majority of these templates have settings where you can specify thumbnail size and image link options. Foo Gallery also offers a drag and drop function, NextGen import tool, shortcodes, support for the original WordPress visual display and editing features, custom css and other more features. You can easily add galleries to a page through the Add FooGallery button located at the top of the visual editor.
4. PHOTO GALLERY BY WEB DORADO
Download Here
Photo Gallery by Web Dorado is a responsive plugin packed with tools and options for editing images and adding image galleries which can be displayed with the use of the standard thumbnail display. It provides users the support for a number of image formats and management of endless number of photos. This plugin also features slideshows, shortcodes, widgets, social media integration and support for Youtube and Vimeo Videos within galleries and has audio playback for image slideshows.
Photo Gallery is pretty easy to use and learn even though it is one of the most advanced WordPress gallery plugins out there. The free version comes with the classic thumbnail display together with a slider, image browser and album display features.
5. LAZYEST GALLERY
Download Here
Lazyest Gallery lets you easily create galleries with folders, subfolders and slideshows. It also allows you to work more productively with its important features such as unlimited images, nested folders, shortcodes, custom fields, the capability to add captions and multi-lingual support among others. Using shortcodes and template tags will let you add galleries anywhere in your blog and if you want to further the plugin you can also incorporate some widgets and add-ons into it.
Final Thoughts
There are numerous WordPress image gallery plugins you can choose from and it’s vital that you find the perfect match for your website. It’s always a good idea to do a bit of research first and compare your plugin choices before installing it to make sure it meets your and your website’s needs. If you’re still after more features, you can always upgrade to the plugins premium version.
