This is not another gallery management plugin... you don't upload photos or create albums. Instead, Justified Image Grid is a display that connects content sources you already use to lightboxes. What connects things is a beautiful "bridge", the grid itself. So you don't need to learn a new gallery plugin. Most importantly there is no need to move what you already built! At the same time, still show galleries with the nice new look. This makes adapting to Justified Image Grid easy and fast. Apart from deciding the visuals, there is not much to work on.
WordPress sources
Already use WordPress galleries or NextGEN? Have a portfolio set up in your theme or a list of WooCommerce products?
Switch to JIG display and keep the workflow that you learned.
WordPress sources
- Caption fieldsCaption fields
- Custom linksCustom links
- Taxonomies (filtering)Taxonomies (filtering)
- SearchSearch
- OrderingOrdering
- Album-gallery relationshipAlbum-gallery relationship
- BreadcrumbBreadcrumb
- Take-over existingTake-over existing
- Gallery from FTP folderGallery from FTP folder
- Link to content from lightboxLink to content from lightbox
- Default limitDefault limit
- Max images per galleryMax images per gallery
WP Media Library
- Caption fields4 + unlimited custom
- Custom links
very versatile - Taxonomies (filtering)2 + unlimited custom
- SearchMedia Library Assistant, a free pluginby taxonomy
by anything (MLA) - Orderingwell supported, drag and drop, predefined options
- Album-gallery relationship
- Breadcrumb
- Take-over existing
- Gallery from FTP folder
- Link to content from lightbox
- Default limitno limit
- Max images per galleryunlimited
WP recent posts
- Caption fieldsmultiple choices
- Custom links
- Taxonomies (filtering)2 + unlimited custom
- Searchby taxonomy, author, ID, date
- Orderingnot just date descending, drag and drop with free plugin
- Album-gallery relationship
- Breadcrumb
- Take-over existing
- Gallery from FTP folder
- Link to content from lightbox
- Default limit50
- Max images per galleryunlimited
Real Media Library
- Caption fields4 + unlimited custom
- Custom links very versatile
- Taxonomies (filtering)2 + unlimited custom
- SearchMedia Library Assistant, a free pluginby taxonomy
by anything (MLA) - Orderingphotos by predefined options, RML objects: drag and drop
- Album-gallery relationshipFolders, collections, galleries on unlimited levels.
- Breadcrumb
- Take-over existing
- Gallery from FTP folder
- Link to content from lightbox
- Default limitno limit
- Max images per galleryunlimited
NextGEN Gallery
- Caption fields2
- Custom linksNextGEN Custom Fields with free plugin
- Taxonomies (filtering)1 (tags)
- Searchnative, by anything
- Orderingwell supported, drag and drop, JIG offers extra options
- Album-gallery relationship
- Breadcrumb
- Take-over existing
- Gallery from FTP folder
- Link to content from lightbox
- Default limitno limit
- Max images per galleryunlimited
Individual overlay colors can be achieved by Custom CSS.
The above example uses the following, generated shortcode (how to use):[$justified_image_grid row_height=200 height_deviation=50 caption=reverse-mixed caption_opacity=1 caption_bg_color=transparent caption_match_width=yes caption_text_color=white caption_title_size=24px caption_desc_size=16px v_center_captions=yes overlay=others overlay_color=#3b5998 overlay_opacity=1 last_row=match-center aspect_ratio=2.35 recent_posts=yes recents_description=custom_post_metadata post_metadata_fields=_yoast_wpseo_metadesc recents_post_type=page post_ids=3981,4072,18645,5650]
External sources
These are popular sites where you can manage photos - entirely outside WordPress.
It takes a one-time setup to show your uploads. They'll be on automatic sync: you can just set it and forget it.
External sources
- Album-gallery relationshipAlbum-gallery relationship
- BreadcrumbsBreadcrumbs
- Caption fieldsCaption fields
- Taxonomies (filtering)Taxonomies (filtering)
- SearchSearch
- OrderingOrdering
- Setup / AuthorizationSetup / Authorization
- Content privacyContent privacy
- Link to content from lightboxLink to content from lightbox
- Video supportVideo support
- Custom linksCustom links
- Default limitDefault limit
- Max images per galleryMax images per gallery
Facebook
- Album-gallery relationship single level
- Breadcrumbs
- Caption fields1
- Taxonomies (filtering)
- Search
- Orderingset by Facebook + shuffle
- Setup / AuthorizationYes, full OAuth
- Content privacyPublic and private
- Link to content from lightbox
- Video support TBA
- Custom links
- Default limit25
- Max images per gallery500
Flickr
- Album-gallery relationship multiple levels
- Breadcrumbs
- Caption fields2
- Taxonomies (filtering)One-word tags. tags*
- Searchnative, by anything
- Orderingset by Flickr + shuffle, any order for search
- Setup / AuthorizationYes, just an API key
- Content privacyOnly public and Flickr safe
- Link to content from lightbox
- Video support TBA
- Custom links
- Default limit25
- Max images per gallery500
RSS Feeds
- Album-gallery relationship
- Breadcrumbs
- Caption fields2 + date formats
- Taxonomies (filtering)
- Search
- Orderingfixed date descending + shuffle
- Setup / AuthorizationNone required
- Content privacyNo limit
- Link to content from lightbox
- Video support
- Custom linkscontrolled by the feed
- Default limitno limit
- Max images per gallery~20-50 per feed
Individual overlay colors can be achieved by Custom CSS.
The above example uses the following, generated shortcode (how to use):[$justified_image_grid row_height=200 height_deviation=50 caption=reverse-mixed caption_opacity=1 caption_bg_color=transparent caption_match_width=yes caption_text_color=white caption_title_size=24px caption_desc_size=16px v_center_captions=yes overlay=others overlay_color=#3b5998 overlay_opacity=1 last_row=match-center aspect_ratio=2.35 recent_posts=yes recents_description=custom_post_metadata post_metadata_fields=_yoast_wpseo_metadesc recents_post_type=page post_ids=4013,5338,4045,5665]
Which source is best for me?
You don't need to stick with just one. Learn the benefits of each features highlighted in the comparisons.
How to choose a source?
- Decide what source features you need: check out the glossary to the right to familiarize yourself with the terms.
- Use the comparison tables above to find a source that suits you best. Should you not find one that does it all, think about using multiple sources. The visitors won't be able to tell the difference or know where the images are coming from. Please note that it's one source at a time per gallery.
- Check out the demo pages, so you get a better idea what each source is about.
- Check out the demo pages for your desired source subtypes that interest you, for example Facebook albums or Flickr collections.
Consider the usability of a content source for the person who'll manage the galleries.
- For example, if you have clients that wish to manage their own galleries very easily then you'll probably need Facebook.
- If you or the the client is a photographer with an already established Flickr portfolio, then the choice is already made.
- WordPress sources are universal since everything is in one place and it's still easy with lots of extra features, as in captions and taxonomies.
Source features glossary
You need this if you wish to showcase multiple galleries of content linked from a parent album. A thumbnail (album cover) is used to open a gallery either on its own page or directly in the lightbox. Breadcrumbs is the small navigation that helps you go to parent levels. Example: Flickr Collections
They are the various metadata you can set and display for each photo, such as title or description. They are used for thumbnail captions, lightbox text and SEO too. Example: Thumbnail captions
It determines the type of content a source should be used for. Some sources are better suited for private photos (like family photos from Facebook). While Flickr is great for travel and nature photography, but they mark nudity as "unsafe". Therefore, if you have NSFW content then primarily use a WordPress source or RSS Feeds.
They are used where a thumbnail click should open something other than the picture in the lightbox. Example: Custom links
It's nothing to worry about, it's just a number of how many items the grid shows out of the box. You can increase the number at any time.
It's a fast way to create galleries as it's essentially a batch upload directly to the server. This NextGEN Gallery feature can populate a gallery with many images at once.
When showing content within a lightbox, this is a backlink that takes you to the content's own standalone page at its source.
External APIs have a limit, and it's also a meaningful maximum for performance. If you have more images than this, split them up to multiple smaller galleries.
Whether or not you can control the thumbnail order in the grid. Make no mistake, you can always influence the order in some way. It just might not be controlled by JIG, but at the source.
It's the ability to build galleries based on a search criteria. Native search means the best possible search because it's actively supported by the API and/or custom functions were built for it. Ultimately (as advanced usage) connect them to your site search with PHP template tags. Examples: NextGEN search or Flickr search
At external sources - sites - you need to register a simple application for your own usage. This allows the gallery to connect, and protects them against abuse.
It's the easy mode switch where your existing and future galleries in posts will get replaced by Justified Image Grid, on the fly. Example: Images by ID
A taxonomy is the way to group things together such as tags and categories. You can create galleries based on these and/or allow visitors to filter the photos by them. If you need this ability, then choose a source that has this. Examples: Images by taxonomy (WordPress) and Filtering
This indicates where JIG can natively load and display videos among photos in the lightbox. For sources where JIG doesn't have video support yet, they are simply skipped. Example: Video support