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8 Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins for 2020 (Compared)

Moeez — March 11, 2020 6 Minutes Read
WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins

In the world of the internet filled with words, images stand out images and can, in fact, convey complex concepts in a simpler manner, which makes them far more valuable.  Although WordPress has a built-in gallery to display images for your visitors, there is not much allure and functionality to it, and you’d be better off looking for a WordPress gallery plugin from other sources.

Fortunately for you, I took the liberty of sorting through hundreds of gallery plugins and bring to you only the ones that provide the best user experience and feedback.

Here’s what I look for in Gallery plugins:

What to look for in a WordPress Gallery Plugin

Before installing a plugin, don’t assume that the first result is the one to go with. There are some factors that you have to consider first, some of which are:

Features: Elements like navigation, lightboxes, animation, and pagination make the experience of gallery viewing more interesting.

Number of installs/rating: Before you hit that download button, it’s important to check out the number of installs and the average rating. Compare it with the others and see which plugin has a bigger adoption rate.

Compatibility: This is the most crucial! Always check if the plugin you are about to download is up to date and if it’s compatible with the latest version of the WordPress.

Speed: Like your site, your gallery should be quick in execution so as not to frustrate your users. You have to optimize each and every one of your images so that they can load quicker.

Ease of Use: We recommend trying out the free versions of the gallery plugins before you purchase them. Chances are that some of the features of a plugin may not be up to the mark, hence, you can make a better decision that way.

Let’s take a look at which plugin fulfill all these criteria, and you can pick one for your WordPress blog to further your quest to display awesome images for your visitors!

1. Envira Gallery

Envira Gallery WordPress photo gallery plugin

In just a short span of time, Envira Gallery has gained a lot of popularity in the WordPress community. The plugin enables you to create incredible photos as well as video galleries in under a span of few minutes.

In order to make sure your site is flexible, the plugin is powerfully light, which works great if you wish to display a number of high-quality images in your gallery. It’s also responsive, which means that the gallery can be displayed just as beautifully on a mobile device as it would on its desktop counterpart.

Here is Why Envira Gallery is a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Lightweight plugin that doesn’t affect your site’ performance. 
  • Highly responsive which means your images can be displayed on every device
  • Simplistic interface allows you to drag and drop images to your gallery 
  • Import and export images with one click 

Price: 

  • Basic – $29
  • Plus – $69
  • Pro – $99
  • Agency – $299

2. NextGEN Gallery (Free)

NextGEN Gallery WordPress photo gallery plugin

It’s not every day that you find a WordPress plugin with over 16.5 million downloads like that of NextGEN Gallery. So it’s safe to say that not only is it one of the most popular plugins available, but also one of the most powerful.

The free option provides users with hundreds of options and plenty more when you upgrade to the Pro version. It goes without saying that NextGen Gallery is on the hit list of the world’s most revered photographers, imaging professionals, and visual artists.

Here is Why NextGEN Gallery is a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • 4 built-in lightboxes
  • Slideshow galleries
  • Compact and extended albums 
  • Import and export metadata
  • Control over size and style

3. FooGallery (Free)

FooGallery wordpress photo gallery plugin

From the same team that brought you the lightbox plugin FooBox, FooGallery is free and loaded with intuitive and extensible features. But even with those features, the plugin is light and easy to integrate. Hence, your site and gallery will be easy to load as a result.

Developers can make custom extensions with the hooks and filters that are available with FooGallery, which are then made available to FooGallery users. Given how it is modular and extendable, the core plugin remains extremely lightweight and that allows for great flexibility.

Here is Why FooGallery is a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Lightweight plugin 
  • Comes with Retina support for better image quality on Retina display devices 
  • Easy to install and configure on your WordPress 
  • 6 Image gallery templates
  • Gutenberg ready

4. Gallery (Free)

Gallery wordpress plugin

Don’t let the generic name deceive you because Gallery packs a whole lot in its arsenal. With its vast array of intrinsic and customizable options, you can create a responsive gallery in a matter of minutes. It provides a ton of tools to add and edit images for different views.

You can also add your galleries and albums to various posts, pages, and widgets, as well as add detailed descriptions to images and organize your galleries into different tags and categories.

Here is Why Gallery is a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Offers a gallery management system
  • Can batch upload images to your gallery
  • Group galleries into albums
  • Import metadata, add/delete/rearrange/sort photos,

5. Gmedia Gallery

Gmedia Gallery WordPress gallery plugins

If there ever was a better way for you to manage and display the photos on your site, Gmedia Gallery is the answer you seek. Its interface is quite robust but user-friendly, which gives you all the more tools to be just as precise with your image customizations as you want to be. Apart from this plugin if you want your WordPress website photos to be protected then here’s our recommended Photo Protect plugin “visual watermark” which is one of the best photo protection plugin for your WordPress website.

Apart from the fact that you can create an unlimited number of galleries to your liking, you can save your visitors the headache of being lost in the clutter by including specific categories and tags for each of your images.

Here is Why Gmedia Gallery is a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Drag and drop builder to create a beautiful gallery in a few clicks
  • Integrate WordPress search to your library
  • Mobile friendly galleries 
  • Support for audio and video files 
  • Social sharing of images from the gallery

6. Photo Gallery by Supsystic

Photo Gallery by Supsystic wordpress photo gallery plugin

If it’s sleek and chic you’re looking for in your site’s gallery, Photo Gallery is the one to call. Get your images and portfolios organized in an orderly manner that is both strikingly idyllic and efficient.

There’s an unlimited number of options available for your convenience as well as a plethora of styles and designs that aims to give your galley meaning and pizzazz. Apart from that, the plugin lets you upload and publish images in bulks, thereby making image management less stressful.

Here is Why Photo Gallery by Supsystics a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Fully customizable gallery styles
  • Built-in albums
  • Support for Lazy Loading
  • Gallery widget
  • Shortcodes in rich text editor

7. GalleryManager

GalleryManager wordpress photo gallery Plugin

Save yourself the hustle of managing your image galleries with galleryManager. The WordPress backend is where you will be doing all of the heavy liftings, so to speak, but in an uncomplicated manner. It syncs and optimizes your images on any digital device and makes them easily accessible as well.

It does not require any software to install, does not contain any device fees, has unlimited storage and backup, free upgrades and seamless web integration. It has its own dedicated encrypted servers, which completely masks your online activity to any unwanted third-party.

Here is Why GalleryManager a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Every gallery has its own page with unique URL
  • Support for featured images as gallery thumbnails
  • Support for WordPress user permissions and capabilities
  • Support for multisite
  • Custom CSS for image galleries

8. WP Photo Album Plus

wp photo album plus WordPress Gallery Plugin

The plugin is not only an image gallery plugin, it is a customizable media management system. If you have a website where you want users to visit and rate your photos, then this is the plugin for you. With this plugin, your users will also be able to comment on your photos.

The setup is not that straightforward but once you are past the learning curve, you will find many customization capabilities that no other image gallery plugin has.

Here is Why  WP Photo Album Plus a Great WordPress Gallery Plugin: 

  • Bulk import images to your gallery 
  • Configure email notifications
  • Search function for image search
  • Customizable rating system

Get Cracking on Your Gallery Plugins

Now that all has been said and done, the final decision on which gallery plugin best fits your site’s needs depends on you. Remember, you don’t necessarily have to take our word for it; you only need to trust your guts and determine what will make your site look the most appealing.

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      Moeez is ‘The’ blogger in charge of WPblog. He loves to interact and learn about WordPress with people in the WordPress community. Outside his work life, Moeez spends time hanging out with his friends, playing Xbox and watching football on the weekends. You can get in touch with him at moeez[at]wpblog.com.

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