NextGEN Gallery is an image gallery plugin for the popular WordPress content management platform. It is a free plugin with additional features accessible with a paid license for the Pro version. The plugin has been widely used since 2007 and features several customizable options.

This plugin allows users to create photo galleries for WordPress sites like the standalone Photo Gallery Maker application. However, NextGen has the distinct advantage of being hosted completely within the WordPress environment and instantly publishes results. In addition, it gives you a great deal of control over the image presentation of your gallery.

Industry-standard WordPress plugin

The plugin boasts over 1.5 million downloads per year, and it's used across several fields and many different sizes of websites. It allows site admins to easily create image galleries, including the option to perform batch uploads. Users can also import metadata to save time when adding details to newly uploaded images.

Seamless integration

NextGEN works seamlessly with Gutenberg block editor, making it easy to add galleries or albums to WordPress. There are also WordPress shortcodes, but they are not required for this plugin.

Multiple styles for more versatility

This version of the plugin comes with three main gallery styles to choose from. These styles are a slideshow, an image browser, and thumbnail galleries. In addition, there are also two album styles, including compact and extended. All of these styles come with a wide array of extra options to customize the look and behavior of the plugin.

Additional features

NextGEN is designed to work well with any theme, plus it's mobile-friendly and responsive. Thumbnails can be cropped to suit the needs of the site from within the plugin. It is also possible to use pagination when displaying thumbnail galleries.