The closing (20th) lesson of the Site Setup Guide series: how to add a photo gallery to a WordPress post. The 2014 approach still works, but the modern Block Editor (Gutenberg) is far more flexible.
Note: The original YouTube video for this lesson is no longer available. This post contains a written step-by-step walkthrough instead.
2014 — Classic Gallery Insertion
- Place the cursor in the editor where the gallery should appear.
- Click “Add Media”.
- Switch to the “Create Gallery” tab.
- Select 2+ images from your computer or the Media Library.
- “Create a new gallery” → pick the link target (Media File / None / Attachment Page).
- Set the column count (default: 3).
- “Insert Gallery” → shortcode
goes into the post. - Publish — the gallery is live.
2026 — The Block Editor (Gutenberg) Way
- Click the + add-block button.
- Choose the “Gallery” block (or type
/gallery). - Upload images or pick from the Media Library.
- In the Block panel on the right:
- Columns: 1-8.
- Crop images: for uniform sizes.
- Link to: media file, attachment, none.
- Image size: thumbnail, medium, large, full.
- Drag-and-drop to reorder images.
- Preview, publish.
Advanced Gallery Plugins (2026)
- FooGallery: lightbox, masonry, lazy-load.
- Envira Gallery: theme-independent, e-commerce ready.
- Modula: AI-powered auto-layout in 2026.
- WP Photo Album Plus: huge photo archives.
Performance Tips
- WebP / AVIF conversion is mandatory (ShortPixel, Imagify).
- For large galleries enable lazy loading.
- Specify image dimensions in HTML — improves Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
- For 20+ thumbnails use infinite scroll or pagination.
2014 → 2026 in Review
This wraps up a 20-lesson series. In 2014 “building a site” really was complex — domain, hosting, FTP, MySQL, plugins, theme PSDs. Today:
- One-click WordPress install (standard on every panel).
- No need to buy a theme — Block Editor + Astra/Kadence covers it.
- Free, automatic SSL.
- You can even start zero-code on Substack / Ghost / WordPress.com.
2026 note: The Site Setup Guide series wrapped in 20 lessons. Today the same outcome could be taught in half a lesson — WordPress + Cloudflare + Block Editor handles everything. The series’s value is now historical, but the fundamentals (hosting, domain, DNS, FTP) still apply.
