If you are looking to spice up your online photos with stylish galleries, hover effects, and social media sharing, you’ll want to consider a WordPress photo gallery plugin!
A WordPress photo gallery plugin allows you to display more photos in less space while also making it easier for users to browse your images. By creating a gallery, you can display pictures in a grid format with columns and rows. You can show thumbnails of your pictures, and users can click on them to open up the full image.
There are many photo gallery plugins to choose from, ranging from some that make it super easy to create a stylish gallery to others that include more advanced options for photographers or visual artists.
What Are the Benefits of Using a WordPress Photo Gallery Plugin?
Using a photo gallery plugin will help you create stunning photo and video galleries with just a few clicks. Some other significant benefits include better marketing, assisting with organization, and allowing for image descriptions.
Increasing Marketing Efforts
A major benefit is that photo gallery plugins will integrate features that help you share your photos on social media. Watermark features help to professionalize and brand your business as well.
Helping With Organization
Whether you’re building a business website or looking to share your favorite candid shots, a photo gallery plugin will help you organize and show off your photos by offering various layouts and templates to show off your pics.
Allowing for Image Descriptions
Plugins are very helpful if your images could benefit from descriptions. This is often the case for people in photojournalism and product photography.
What to Look for in the Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugin
There are some important factors to consider when installing a photo gallery plugin on your website. Here are some of the most significant factors to look for when you search through the many different WordPress plugin options.
Image Watermarking and Right-Click Protection
Look for a plugin with a watermark feature. This will help you protect your photos from theft and make them stand out on the internet. Some plugins do not allow people to right-click on the item, which is another way to protect your images from theft.
Ecommerce Addons
If you are a photographer looking to sell your photos, make sure the plugin offers an eCommerce integration such as WooCommerce. What’s the point of trying to sell your images if there is no way for people to buy them?
Price for Value
Check out the features and support options that are available, and then compare them to the price of the plugin. Some photo gallery plugins offer far more features than others at more affordable prices so make sure you compare the list of features carefully.
Templates
Seek out a plugin with a comprehensive collection of different gallery formats such as tiled, mosaic, and masonry.
Social Sharing Buttons
If people love your photos, you’ll want them to be able to share your pictures with the world. Make sure that the photo gallery plugin you choose includes social media sharing to expand your reach as a photographer or visual artist.
The Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins
Below is a list of the five best plugins to make your website look trustworthy and professional. Hopefully, this list of gallery plugins will help you find the one that best fits your individual needs.
Modula: Excellent Drag-and-Drop Interface
We had to choose Modula as one of the best WordPress photo gallery plugins because it was developed to cater to all WordPress users, regardless of experience.
Pros: We are not exaggerating when we say that their easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface and customization options make it possible to create a gallery that looks just like one of their demos. One of our favorite features is that you can add image-entry animations to your photo gallery. There are also over 40 built-in hover effects to make your gallery look more appealing.
Cons: The biggest con is that the best features are only available with the premium version of Modula. The plugin does not give away much for free. Modula is best for professionals looking for an easy-to-use WordPress plugin.
Pricing: The Starter Plan is $39 per year and it is suitable for those who are just starting out. The most expensive is the Agency Plan which is priced at $149 per year.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
NextGen Gallery: Ideal for Photographers
NextGen Gallery is one of our top choices because it is highly customizable and it offers extensive functionality. It’s perfect for photographers or anyone who regularly works with images.
Pros: The WordPress plugin has many album styles and advanced image management features such as automatic watermarks, easy image resizing, and album support.
Cons: We don’t like how NextGen only offers annual pricing as this is not the most affordable way to pay for a plugin.
Best For: NextGen Gallery is best for people who work with images day in and day out, such as photographers. This plugin is best for those who need functionality beyond just showcasing images in a stylish gallery.
Pricing: Pricing for the Pro Plan is $122 per year. This is the most popular plan that NextGen Gallery offers.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Envira Gallery: Stunning Photo and Video Galleries
We chose Envira Gallery because it allows you to create beautiful photo and video galleries using pre-made layouts. Envira Gallery has a beginner-friendly interface and access to more advanced features, such as the ability to sell photos via WooCommerce.
Pros: The Envira Gallery WordPress plugin gives you complete control over image sizing and it is integrated with lazy loading, which helps the plugin optimize your gallery effect.
Cons: The plugin does have one massive con. It does not offer any gallery templates in the basic plan, so you will have to spend money to unlock them. This is a huge negative for Envira Gallery because other plugins, like Foo Gallery, offer the gallery template for free.
Best For: Envira Gallery is best for beginners and power users.
Pricing: The Envira Gallery is running a special for their professional plan. The plan is typically $99 per year but it is currently $49 per year which includes a 100% no-risk money-back guarantee.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Photo Gallery by 10Web: Beautiful Mobile Galleries
The Photo Gallery by 10Web plugin is consistently ranked as one of the most popular WordPress photo gallery plugins. It is also extremely mobile-friendly.
Pros: One positive feature is that the free version of this plugin offers basic grid formats. We also love how the premium version allows you to mix-and-match galleries with both images and videos.
Cons: The drawback users most often report is that they wish email hosting was a feature included in 10Web. There are also some complaints about bugs.
Best For: The Photo Gallery by 10Web is best for anyone looking for a mobile-friendly photo gallery plugin.
Pricing: The premium version starts at $30 for a single-site license. The pricing goes up for additional licenses.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
FooGallery: Highly Configurable
We chose FooGallery as one of the Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins because it implements a simple user interface that looks and feels like WordPress. At the same time, it is highly configurable and extendable for developers or freelancers.
Pros: FooGallery offers stunning gallery layouts. It is responsive, comes retina-ready, and supports lazy loading for lightning-fast photo galleries. FooGallery includes a simple-to-use Gutenberg block so you can add your existing FooGallery image galleries in seconds.
Cons: One drawback is that FooGallery lacks some of the features available in other WordPress photo gallery plugins.
Best For: FooGallery is best for power users, freelancers, or online businesses looking to showcase their media.
Pricing: The professional FooGallery plan is discounted for $89.99 per year. It comes with a 7-day free trial and it’s a no-obligation trial, meaning it does not require you to enter your credit card details.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
It’s Time to Install Your Photo Gallery Plugin
As you consider your choices, think about whether you are looking for a super-easy way to create stylish gallery right-clicks or if you need more heavy-duty options that come with dedicated tools for photographers or other visual artists.
No matter what you’re looking for, you should be able to find a great WordPress photo gallery plugin for your needs!
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