FooGallery – The #1 Gallery for developers, freelancers & website owners

FooGallery allows you to create a single thumbnail gallery from your media library in under a minute.

Images courtesy of Pixabay

The single thumbnail template only displays one image thumbnail on your page. But when you click on the thumbnail image, it opens in a lightbox, and you can scroll through the rest of the photos in the gallery.

You can adjust the size of the thumbnail, and you can override the title and description by adding these for the gallery (instead of using those of a single image). It is also possible to change the position of the gallery. For more about the settings for the simple portfolio gallery, go here.

This template is included in FooGallery Free.

What is FooGallery?

FooGallery is a responsive photo gallery plugin that has been created to make the process of creating stunning WordPress galleries easier. It allows users to upload all sorts of media files, such as photos or videos, and create galleries that are simple and, at the same time, effective. The best part about this plugin is that although it offers an extensive list of features, it is easy to customize and can be used by anyone. 

It comes in two versions, with one being available for free, whereas for all those who are interested in a wider array of features, there is also a PRO version.

What Are the Features of the Best WordPress Photo Gallery Plugin?

If you are running a WordPress blog, want to sell photos online, or perhaps you are in the eCommerce business, there will be plenty of images on your website. To ensure that the experience of users who visit your page is invariably great, you should consider getting a WordPress photo gallery plugin. It will help them find the images they are looking for, and also eliminate some common issues with displaying photos.

Now, you might be wondering why that would be a good idea. There are many benefits that stem from installing such a plugin, and below you’ll find just some of them.

Gallery Templates

Even though there is a good chance that you’d want to experiment a little bit with the photo gallery to find the best look, decent gallery plugins should come with several visually stunning gallery templates. 

Sure, a significant portion of website owners might want to spend some time polishing the little details to make the image gallery look exactly as they want. However, some people would rather use a gallery template that’s already been prepared – this way, they could focus on other important matters. 

Before you choose a gallery plugin for your website, make sure to check the demos beforehand. If you are looking for a WordPress photo gallery plugin that has some interesting gallery templates, you should consider FooGallery. The free version has 6 gallery layouts, whereas the FooGallery PRO comes with 3 additional ones.

Responsive Gallery

If you want photos on your website to look amazing, regardless of the user’s type of device, you need a responsive photo gallery plugin. What does this mean? Though the photos might look incredibly beautiful on your screen, it doesn’t mean that the visitors have the same exact experience. 

That’s because, due to a different size of the screen, photos might be displayed only partially, or they might be otherwise distorted. This is an especially common issue for mobile users, as their screens are significantly smaller than those of laptops or PCs. 

If those visitors encounter a problem of this type on your website, they will be likely to leave due to a bad user experience. As mobile users constitute a large share of all internet users, the traffic on your page would suffer. 

That’s not the only reason why this would be bad for your website. If users leave your website pretty quickly due to a lack of a responsive gallery, it will also cause the rankings of your website to drop. That’s because Google treats UX, or user experience, as one of the ranking factors. Because of that, it is essential that you use a WordPress photo gallery plugin that is responsive.

Video Support

Though most people use image gallery plugins for photos, ideally, the one that you choose should also allow you to include videos as well. If you think that you would benefit from being able to implement video galleries on your website, you also need to check whether a plugin of your choice supports all of the largest video hosting platforms. 

By importing videos from Youtube or Vimeo, you’ll be able to create even more fascinating content that your users will love. FooGallery PRO comes with full video support.

Filtering

If there is a high number of photos on your website, being able to organize them with the help of tags would be extremely useful. Thanks to tag filtering, finding photos will be much easier. Your users will appreciate this option too! With FooGallery PRO, you’ll be able to sort your photos according to your liking. The best part? It’s really easy.

However, although you might have an idea how to organize the images, allowing users to sort them on their own would create a better user experience. That’s why multi-level filtering is another feature that you are likely to find useful.

Lightbox

Lightboxes make the experience of users smoother, as they don’t have to leave the gallery page to see the photos in their full size. If you choose to use the free version of FooBox, we also recommend getting a lightbox plugin, such as FooBox PRO. On the other hand, if you install FooGallery PRO, you won’t have to do anything in this regard, as it already includes a lightbox.

Infinite Scrolling

Infinite scrolling is yet another feature that is a must for any WordPress photo gallery plugin. Why? You have certainly encountered infinite scrolling numerous times, for example, while using Facebook. When you scroll down the page, it causes more content to load up. Because of that, you don’t need to wait a long time before all of the photos load up – they will start doing so only if you scroll down. 

It’s an extremely useful feature, especially in the case of websites that are full of high-quality photos and videos, as it can significantly decrease the time required for a page to load. Apart from making your website faster, infinite scrolling is also convenient for users, as they don’t have to go to the next page to see more content.

Lazy Loading

Lazy loading is somewhat similar to the infinite scrolling feature, as it decreases the page load time. In short, the elements that are not needed for a user at a particular moment are not loaded. Because of that, it doesn’t take as much time to load up a page. This is particularly useful in the case of pages with a large number of heavy elements, such as a photo gallery. Both free and premium versions of FooGallery come with this feature.

Customization of Galleries

We have mentioned that a decent WordPress gallery plugin should come with templates, but the amount of changes that a user can implement is just as important. Is it possible to customize captions, hover effects, or icons? Can you modify the WordPress thumbnail gallery? With FooGallery, you can!

What Is the Difference Between the Free and Premium Version of FooGallery?

Now, if you are looking for a WordPress gallery plugin, you might be wondering whether you need the PRO version of FooGallery, or if the free one might be just enough. In short, the free version allows you to create stunning galleries, and you can choose from among 6 templates that will help you distinguish your website from those of your competitors. 

Just as in the PRO version, your image gallery will be responsive so you won’t have to worry that users will have issues with displaying photos on their screens. Reordering images and galleries won’t be a tiring task – you’ll be able to do so with a simple drag n drop feature. At the same time, even if your website is full of high-quality photos, your visitors won’t have to wait a long time before the entire page loads – that’s thanks to a lazy loading feature.

However, just because FooGallery Free comes with a wide array of useful features, this doesn’t mean that FooGallery PRO isn’t so much better. Why? First of all, if you choose the premium version, you’ll have access to 3 additional templates that will help you attract the attention of internet users, no matter whether you are running a blog, or a website with beautiful photos. Apart from that, you’ll have an easier time keeping things organized thanks to sophisticated filtering features.

Still, the video support is probably the most notable feature of FooGallery PRO that the free version lacks. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what about a short clip? Videos can help you ensure that visitors stay on your website for longer. You’ll also be able to implement more types of media files, and that’s a never bad thing. FooGallery PRO allows you to create image galleries, video galleries, or mixed galleries containing both images and videos.

Last but not least, FooGallery PRO comes with a lightbox, whereas with the free version, you would need to install it separately (in which case, we recommend FooBox PRO). Lightboxes make it more convenient for the users to view images in their full size, as they don’t need to leave the gallery.

If you think that you would benefit more from FooGallery PRO, then you can download the trial version first.

Want to see more demos? Click here.