Are you looking for the best WordPress image gallery plugins or do you need to host an online portfolio on your WordPress site?
Or maybe you want to showcase your images in order to raise the popularity of your site?

Then this article is for you!
Using one of the many plugins available, you can showcase images on your site in an easy, stylish and modern way. To help you choose the best plugin for you, we provide a list of the best WordPress image gallery plugins.

8 Free WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins

1.NextGEN Gallery

Photo Gallery Plugin for WordPress: Nextgen Gallery is the most popular WordPress photo gallery plugin, it stands out even among the most famous WordPress plugins with over 6 million downloads.
It provides the ability to upload and view an image gallery with the ability to upload images as a group, import meta information, add/delete/rearrange/sort images, modify thumbnails, collect exhibition collections, without any restrictions. In addition, it offers two viewing views (slide show and thumbnail exhibition), both of which provide a wide range of options for adjusting the size, style, time, motion, control, highlight.

There is also a paid version - NextGen Pro with additional settings Pro Thumbnail Grid, Pro Slideshow and Pro Lightbox and Pro Film. If the standard options are not enough for you, with the PRO version you can customize everything to the smallest detail.

2.Photo Gallery

Absolutely free plugin, but at the same time it has many functions and special tools that allow you to add images, videos from Vimeo, and of course from YouTube. At the same time, you have room for creativity, because the gallery can be formed in many ways, in the form of thumbnails, slide shows ... And at the same time, there is no need to install image processing programs on your laptop, because. The plugin has basic image editing tools built in.

At the same time, an important point is to ensure the correctness of the gallery not only on a stationary PC, but also on mobile devices. The plugin has this ability and adapts to different platforms. It also has the popular lightbox feature.

The paid version of Photo Gallery Pro already has 15 versions of lightboxes, integration with social networks and the ability to combine video and photo materials in one gallery. It's up to you to decide, and at the same time, the functionality of the free version is more than enough.

3.Gallery by BestWebSoft

If your site is connected primarily with the visual component and you simply need to add a very large number of photos, form them into different albums and galleries, feel free to install this plugin. You can do all of this for free.

If this is not enough for you and you want to expand your capabilities (editing different options for lightboxes, buttons social networks…) - we have developed a paid version of Gallery Pro for you.

4Gmedia Gallery

Allows you to modify your media content the way you want: upload images, import music and videos, browse photos, playlists for audio, assemble images into slideshows and insert descriptions for each image, mp3 or movie. Gmedia Gallery is a brilliant solution when you need to showcase your best images in a word, for any occasion. Fabulous Gmedia Gallery can effectively enhance your website with photo showcase, mp3 player, video player, standard rotator, Nivo slider or beautiful widgets. SEO optimized like Google Reader, Feedburner and others.

Gmedia Gallery Features:

• Works on iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and PC.
• Full screen slideshow on mobile devices with touch control(optional if the Photoswipe library script for the alternative gallery is installed).
• SEO optimized.

5.Easy Media Gallery

Easy Media Gallery is an excellent plugin for WordPress designed to showcase portfolios and different rows of media, photo overview, single image, google maps, video and audio, which has an elegant interface that does not disrupt the site.
It's easy to use and works flawlessly! You have a variety of customization options within WordPress.
The Easy Media Gallery plugin allows you to create and administer numerous galleries through the main admin interface.

6. Huge IT Portfolio Gallery

If you want not just to add a gallery to your blog, but to do something unique, something that makes you stand out among hundreds and thousands of other users, then this plugin is for you. Feel free to install and be sure that you will have a huge choice, settings that allow you to perfectly fit the gallery into your design and, as a result, your gallery will be unique.

The developers are very proud of their blog gallery. I recommend to go to the official website and see examples of use.

And it would be completely superfluous to say that the developers have provided adaptive design for different platforms, lightboxes and image editing tools. Everything is already included and just waiting for your creativity.

7. Fancy Gallery

This plugin adds Fancybox for images to your WordPress. All selected images will immediately open in Fancybox. If you use the shortcode for "gallery", the images will get a route bar and the gallery itself will be changed to a valid HTML code. There is jQuery highlighting.

8. Lightbox Gallery

Lightbox Gallery Plugin modernizes the view of the image gallery.

Lightbox Gallery Features:

• Has Lightbox showcase for image gallery
• Suggests a perspective caption for an image
• Shows image metadata
• Has advanced options by default
• Much more..

Outcome:
All the plugins reviewed today are designed to help you solve the issue of adding, designing and harmoniously shaping the visual content of your site. Each is comfortable to use and removes the need for you to have technical skills. And each one is unique in its own way and has its own characteristics. In order to choose the most suitable for yourself, we recommend that you weigh the possibilities of each and your needs and try them in work.

We hope that the review will help you make a choice. If so, write in the comments about your experience and creative victories, we will be grateful

Hello freelancers! How great it would be to just tell clients: I'm really good, trust me - and clients would send us a lot of money. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. Clients want to make sure you know what you're doing before they hire you (how selfish of them!).

So how can you convince them of your qualifications? With a portfolio. How to create a portfolio on WordPress? With one of these amazing plugins.

These plugins are not just for freelancers. It seems to us that everyone should demonstrate the results of their work. Even if you are 100% satisfied with your current job, it is always nice to feel in demand. Nowadays, only with the help of a change of work can one achieve a promotion. It never hurts to have fallbacks.

Today we will tell you about some of the best WordPress plugins to build a portfolio.

1. WP Portfolio

This free plugin is number one on this list because it's the one we use on our personal websites. It is very convenient to embed portfolios and thumbnail images here.

For creating WordPress Thumbnails Portfolio Plugin integrates with the ShrinkTheWeb service, which automatically generates thumbnails. We couldn't get this service to work, so we manually created and uploaded the images, and then the plugin automatically created the thumbnails. If you understand how to run ShrinkTheWeb, then creating thumbnails will be even easier.

Add new element portfolio is very simple. Just enter a title, website and description. You can edit Advanced Settings if you want (that's where we added custom thumbnails), but it's not necessary:

Also easy to set up appearance portfolio with basic html:

For example, we edited html template to remove the description. Therefore, in the photo example of the site above you will not find a description. Just a thumbnail and a link to the article.

If you want to add something to the template, then with a basic knowledge of HTML, it will be a breeze.

This plugin is perfect for people whose profession is not very related to something visual. That is, if you are a photographer, it is better to choose another plugin. But if you are a writer, web developer, or even a web designer, then this plugin is for you.

2. Portfolio by BestWebSoft

Portfolio by BestWebSoft is a free plugin that is very similar to the WordPress Portfolio Plugin. What is the difference? It offers additional functionality, but is slightly inferior in design:

In the screenshot above, you can see additional features such as multiple screenshots, completion dates, and more. But you also probably noticed that the design is a bit strange. Lots of skewed text. This is not a disaster, of course, but in this aspect the plugin lags behind the WordPress Portfolio Plugin. Well, in our opinion.

3. Real 3D FlipBook

Real3D FlipBook is definitely the most unique plugin on this list. Instead of displaying portfolio items in a gallery or list, the design looks like a flipbook.

Most likely, the plugin will not work for all portfolios, but if you like this art style, then this is a really cool option. You can add HTML to each page to make it more interactive. For example, embed a video. Or you can upload your portfolio in PDF or JPEG form and create a real interactive book.

Here is an example portfolio with a video:

Real3D FlipBook is a premium plugin available from the CodeCanyon store for $39.

4. Portfolio for Professionals

Portfolio for Professionals is relatively new free offer. But it makes up for its "youth" with regular updates and great features.

Unlike previous plugins, Portfolio for Professionals creates a grid-like layout that consists mostly of images. This is great for photographers or artists:

There are three types of grid layout:

• Masonry
• Fit Rows
• Vertical

You can also enable lazy loading of images (a great feature for large portfolios), add titles and tags, share across different projects, and more.

5. Huge IT Portfolio

Portfolio Gallery by Huge-IT is another plugin for photographers and others creative people. There is a paid and a free version, but the free one has a wide range of features.

You can add both images and videos from YouTube or Vimeo. If you want to embed video in your portfolio, then choose this plugin. You can add a title and description to each work.

Sorting and filtering are also great features. Filtering is only available for premium version, but potential clients will be able to search through the most important parts of the portfolio. In the paid version, you will also get access to a customizable lightbox.

The premium version costs $40 and is available on Huge-IT. There is also a developer version available, but it is more expensive.

6. Go Portfolio

Go Portfolio is one of the most popular premium portfolio plugins on CodeCanyon. Since this is a paid plugin, it has great amount various functions.

You can expect:

• 38 templates for an easier start
• Touch Device Support
• Compatibility with Visual Composer

This plugin has templates for all kinds of portfolios. Some of them allow you to create an "As seen in/As featured on..." window. This is a great proof of your qualifications.

Go Portfolio is available for $23 on CodeCanyon.

7. Bonus - WordPress Themes with Embedded Portfolio

You don't always need a separate plugin. Some themes initially contain methods simple addition portfolio in options and settings.

So check your theme for such a feature.

Results

A portfolio is a must for a freelancer or anyone who wants to showcase their work. If you are not working in the arts, then WordPress Portfolio Plugin and Portfolio by BestWebSoft are for you.

If you are an artist or photographer, then take a look at Portfolio for Professionals or Portfolio Gallery.

Finally, Go Portfolio is a great all-around plugin, although it's not free. And if you need something special, then choose Real3D Flipbook.

Do you have a favorite portfolio plugin? Tell us in the comments!

What can better recommend a professional than a high-quality portfolio on the site? Without it, not a single site of a photographer, copywriter, webmaster or a large construction company can exist. It's like a board of honors, which displays the successes already passed by the master of his craft.

Now it is possible to make a high-quality portfolio on the WordPress site without much effort and attracting site builders using the plugin. In this review, 4 of the best add-ons of this kind will be considered.

1. Nimble Portfolio is the ultimate media showcase tool

If your profession is directly related to the creation of media - you have mastered the business of photography, write music or shoot videos, Nimble Portfolio is ideal for showcasing your work. It is important that this plug-in works adaptively, that is, it adapts to any device: PDA, tablet, smartphone, netbook, etc. In addition, all uploaded information can be conveniently filtered and categorized.

The above WordPress plugin includes a built-in gallery for viewing any type of media (even PDF) directly from the site page without intermediary services. And if you are promoting your own channel on Youtube, it is possible to add videos from third-party servers. As for the design, the user has the opportunity to choose the design and change the cover of the plugin.

2. OTW Portfolio Light - software for posting portfolios on website pages

By using this supplement WordPress, you can either create separate resource categories with your work, or place them directly in articles using a special html code. The main advantage of the tool is ease of use. Even for people who are far from the basics of site building and manipulation of the WordPress engine, it will be easy to add a few media files, create a category, filter, and place a portfolio on the site. Suitable addition for both the photographer and other professions.

3. Awesome Filterable Portfolio - A simple portfolio plugin with the ability to create animations

This WordPress module is more suitable for large companies than for a single photographer, as it allows you to add not only media, but also a description to the uploaded files. It will be useful for construction companies - they will be able to post a video from the facility, information about the stages of construction, contact details of customers and other information.

An attractive feature of this WordPress plugin is the ability to create animations from a range of images in categories. Usually you need to install a separate plugin for this, and this add-on has given function built in. The number of categories in the Awesome Filterable Portfolio is unlimited. Works in four languages.

4. Aelos – A Modern WordPress Plugin to Quickly Create a Photographer Portfolio

For a photographer who does not understand the engine, this tool will be the key to salvation. It is very easy to use - even files can be uploaded by drag and drop.

This is one of the few plugins that allows you to work with huge images larger than 1980x1080. This will be useful for a photographer who does not want to sacrifice the quality of a portfolio shot for the sake of the module's whimsicality.

And for those who know how to customize CSS, Aelos offers an unlimited possibility of creating an individual design: any color, font, borders, etc. color scheme can be configured without CSS - right in the administration panel. There is also a setting for the number of elements on the page, and the types of labels.

Any of the above solutions will be your assistant! With the help of a portfolio, you will increase the client's trust, your reputation, and even be able to fill the price. Good luck!

Looking for the perfect WordPress photo gallery plugin? Confused by the huge selection? In this article, I will talk about the three best plugins and conduct their qualitative analysis and comparison according to criteria such as speed, performance, ease of use, and others. The goal will be to identify the perfect photo gallery plugin for WordPress.

Many WordPress users galleries are created from time to time, i.e. this is a fairly common occurrence. This is why WordPress has a built-in gallery feature. However, its functionality leaves much to be desired, or rather, it is rather limited, and the created galleries sometimes do not meet all the aesthetic requirements that may arise. That is why there is a need to use special plugins for creating galleries.

Choosing the right plugin will not only help you create beautiful and functional galleries, but will also have the most positive impact on the user experience of your site.

What's wrong with most WordPress photo gallery plugins?

The biggest problem with most of these plugins is the slow speed. If they are badly coded, then the photo galleries created with them will slow down your site a lot, even if it is hosted on a good WordPress hosting.

Another problem is the complexity of the work. Very often, plugins are overloaded with options and difficult to understand, especially for beginners. Big choice features is not always good and does not mean that you have a good product in front of you.

Last but not least, most plugins don't create .

So, the ideal WordPress gallery plugin should be fast, intuitive, and have all the necessary features to create beautiful photo galleries (lightboxes, image navigation, albums, pagination, etc.) without being overwhelmed with junk. All this will allow you to create beautiful photo galleries that will positively affect the user experience of your site and improve its SEO.

So, I've done quite a lot of work, researching a bunch of plugins, highlighting and comparing the best ones. Here are the results of my work.

Candidates for Winning or Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugins

Here are three of the most popular plugins that most experts recommend using in their work. I will compare them, evaluating the speed, functionality, ease of use and reliability.

• Envira Gallery
• Foo Gallery
• NextGEN Gallery

Let's start comparing! Go!

Speed

Speed ​​is critical when choosing a plugin, as it affects the user experience of the site and its SEO.

If you have a portfolio site or a site where the main content is photos, then you have no right not to take into account the speed indicator. I tested all of these plugins by creating a gallery and using the same images without making any changes to the settings. And here are the results:

As you can see from the results, the best result is when using the Envira Gallery plugin, despite the fact that the page weight is almost twice that of the NextGEN and Foo Gallery plugins.

The reason why Enivra Gallery has the best score is because of good encoding and high optimization for speed. So the choice is obvious - for the best loading speed of pages with photo galleries, use the Envira plugin.

Ease of use

Creating a photo gallery is not as easy as adding one or two images to a post. You need to choose a photo layout layout, choose columns, decide on the size, choose a suitable lightbox and animation. For a beginner, all these tasks may seem quite complicated. Therefore, here I would like to define a functional, but at the same time the most intuitive plug-in.

Envira Gallery

Envira Gallery is a great example of classic WordPress coding standards and best practices. The interface of the plugin is very similar to the WordPress admin area. Creating a gallery here is as easy as publishing posts in WordPress, so it's safe to say that beginners will appreciate this plugin - everything is familiar and clear.

When creating a gallery, a shortcode will immediately appear in front of you, which can be added anywhere in the post or WordPress pages. The plugin will also add a button (next to "Upload Media File") in the post editor window, with which you can quickly add a gallery or album to a post/page.

The Envira Gallery plugin also displays a template tag that can be used in WordPress templates. This is very handy if you are developing a site for a client and want to include galleries directly in your theme files.

Foo Gallery

Foo Gallery is very similar in structure to Envira Gallery. Creating a gallery here is very easy through an interface very similar to the WordPress admin.

The plugin will also add a button at the top of the post editor that makes it extremely easy to add galleries to posts or pages.

The only difference here is that Foo Gallery is not a tag for inserting a gallery directly into theme or template files.

NextGEN Gallery

NextGEN differs from the two plugins above: it has a completely different interface, with its own database tables and separate folders for storing images. Due to its unusual look for WordPress, the plugin can seem confusing and difficult to work with.

It will take some time to figure out where to upload images here and how to create galleries. Also, the process of adding a photo gallery to a post/page is not that easy. The plugin will also add a button to visual editor records, but if you work in text editor- no button is visible.

Winner: the victory by a small margin is again awarded to the Envira Gallery plugin, in second place by a close margin to the Foo Gallery plugin. NextGEN will be very unusual for beginners, so it will seem incomprehensible.

Functional

To create beautiful photo galleries, you need such functions as: lightbox, full screen mode, albums, pagination, navigation, slideshows, password protection, EXIF ​​meta data, and more.

However, we must remember that overloading with options can greatly slow down the speed of the site. Let's compare the plugins and find out which of them managed to achieve the best balance in this matter.

Envira Gallery

Envira Gallery comes as a fully responsive plugin where you don't have to configure anything specifically for this.

This means that from one interface you can easily set thumbnails, animations, gallery layouts, add meta tags to images.

In addition to the built-in functions in the plugin, you can add additional options by installing add-ons such as gallery templates, social buttons, videos, password protection, albums, slideshows, pinterest, external linking (deep linking), full screen mode, image tags and much more.

Foo Gallery

The Foo Gallery plugin also has quite a lot of functionality, only it is not responsive by default. You'll have to fiddle with the settings, choose responsive template to create a responsive photo gallery.

Another omission is standard set there is no lightbox, it can only be obtained by installing the free Foobox related plugin. It seems to me that this function should be in the main set.

A number of extensions have been developed for the plugin that can be installed and thereby add additional features, such as branding, a rotating cube effect, a lightbox and more.

NextGEN Gallery

NextGEN Gallery is the oldest of the three plugins featured here. It has a very wide range of functionality. Many of the features that Envira and Foo only have with addons are included here by default. This plugin also has paid versions with even more options.

However, it should be understood that working with many functions requires certain experience and knowledge, which a beginner who takes the first steps in web development does not have. You will have to dig into the functionality, read the relevant literature in order to appreciate, and most importantly, be able to take advantage of everything that the NextGEN plugin offers.

Winner: if we evaluate the functionality, then the undisputed leader is the NextGEN plugin. Foo Gallery lacks some essential features in the standard package, but the Envira Gallery plugin has the right balance between functionality and ease of use.

Compatibility

WordPress allows you to move your site from one host to another and even to competing alternative platforms.

Therefore, let's evaluate the plugins for the ability to easily import / export and backup photo galleries.

The Envira plugin stores all photo galleries as a custom post type in the database WordPress data. It stores your media files using WordPress default media location. This means that by doing , you will automatically make a backup of photo galleries. The plugin also allows

import/export individual photo galleries, so you can easily move a photo gallery from a WordPress site to another.

When moving the site, the plugin will automatically detect this and offer options for moving. All these features make Envira Gallery the most trusted WordPress photo gallery plugin.

foo Gallery

Like Envira, the Foo Gallery plugin stores photo galleries in the WordPress database as a custom post type. Having made a backup of the site, you will automatically create backup copies of photo galleries.

However, you will not be able to transfer individual galleries from one location to another, because the plugin does not have functions for exporting/importing galleries.

NextGEN Gallery

The NextGEN plugin does not have functions for exporting/importing galleries. It stores the data in separate database tables, so when backing up the site, you will have to dig deeper into the settings to include in backup and these tables.

NextGEN also stores images in a separate folder. If you need to make a backup, you will have to separately download this folder to your computer.

Both Envira and Foo Gallery plugins can also import their own images.

Winner: the Enivra Gallery plugin has more full set tools for easy import/export of photo galleries.

Price

All three of these plugins have free versions available in the WordPress Plugin Directory, extended versions are also available for an additional fee. The price depends on the service package you want to choose after using the free versions.

Winner: there is no clear favorite - the price depends very much on additional features and the plan you choose.

Conclusion

Envira Gallery is the best photo gallery plugin for WordPress. It is extremely clear, fast, comes with all the necessary functions and at the same time is fully adaptive. Photo galleries created with it are spectacular and do not overload the page.

I hope I helped you understand WordPress photo gallery plugins and now you know which one is the best and why. What plugin are you using? Leave your answer in the comments or email me.

Do not forget to subscribe to me and, of course, share the article!

Many of my readers work or work as freelancers. Someone writes texts, someone creates websites. And of course, for successful work, you need to profitably show your own freelancer portfolio. Not only a special template can help with this, but also a plugin, for example, Nimble portfolio.

This plugin will help you easily and beautifully arrange on a separate page, which you can name arbitrarily, those works that you consider necessary to place to demonstrate your best qualities. The Nimble portfolio plugin translates as nimble and works as its name suggests.

So, after downloading and activating the plugin for WordPress, you will have an additional menu for the portfolio in the site admin panel.

A portfolio is created in the same way as any of your posts or pages: write a title, insert an image, a job description or text if the job is a copywriter.

Be sure to set a thumbnail, which will be displayed on the portfolio page. By specifying an image in a special link, you can view the work in a larger scale when scrolling through all the works on the portfolio page.

And finally, having created the "Portfolio" page (or naming it as you like), you need to place the shortcode, of course, on the text or html code tab.

Or, similar: