Creating a photo gallery can help to add a new element to your WordPress website. There are a number of great gallery plugins and they have come quite a long way over the past few years.

A gallery plugin used to just display static images, but now they can do much more. You can use the plugin to create sliders, for social sharing, display animated effects and so much more. If you want to create a gallery for your WordPress website, choose from one of these free plugins.
<h2>Gmedia Gallery</h2>
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A very powerful plugin with 13 different styles, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/grand-media/">Gmedia Gallery</a> plugin is the perfect choice. This plugin will allow you to display image thumbnails with different customizations. You can add a large slider for the display or use light boxes.

If you want to make your gallery optimized for touch screens, the plugin offers a slider made for swiping. This plugin makes it very easy to create an image gallery to show off all your great pictures.
<h2>NextGEN Gallery</h2>
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Maybe the most popular plugin for your gallery, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/nextgen-gallery/">NextGEN Gallery Plugin</a> is another great choice with a free license. You can create a beautiful gallery with animations, features, effects and so much more. The reasons many WordPress users love this plugin is the light weight code that won't slow down your site.

Not only do you get plenty of features and a mobile-ready design for your gallery, but you can also use watermarking and many other features. If you upgrade to the premium version, you can integrate PayPal and gain many other features with this WordPress plugin.

Even when you upgrade to the pro version, you won't see a slowdown in website load times. The plugin has been created to give you all the necessary features without making your site seem bogged down when users try to access the gallery. The light boxes will load very fast and they are easy to view.
<h2>WP Canvas - Gallery</h2>
For many, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wc-gallery/">WP Canvas Plugin for WordPress</a> will provide just what they need to create and display a beautiful image gallery in WordPress. This plugin allows you to use many different styles, add a slider and display thumbnails.

This specific plugin is all about elegance. The way your pictures will be displayed is very elegant and it's a free plugin. You will even get a plugin with plenty of speed when you choose WP Canvas for your image gallery.

Those looking for a plugin with an elegant carousel will like the WP Canvas plugin. You will gain one of the best looking sliders out there and plenty of other gallery features with this free plugin.
<h2>Photo Gallery by Web Dorado</h2>
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Perfect for mobile viewing, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/photo-gallery/">Photo Gallery by Web Dorado</a> plugin allows you to do many things with social media. The pro version allows for seamless sharing, while the free version gives you plenty of great features.

The light box is put together very well and you can use a small slider at the top with thumbnails for your gallery. This plugin even allows you to add a watermark, animate your images and much more.
<h2>HUGE-IT Gallery</h2>
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A fully responsive gallery plugin with plenty of unlimited features, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gallery-images/">HUGE-IT Gallery Plugin</a> offers more than many of the other free options. This plugin allows for six different views, widget integration, unlimited galleries and unlimited pictures.

With the pro version, you can gain plenty of customization including customizing the lightbox. This plugin is one of the favorites of many WordPress users and for good reason. It's very easy to use and provides plenty of options without any upgrade. However, if you do upgrade, the options become nearly unlimited.

Choosing the right free plugin for your image gallery isn't exactly easy. There are so many great choices and gallery plugins have come a long way. It's best to look at a few different choices and find one that will suit the specific needs of your website.

There are many different plugins out there to help create an image gallery in WordPress. These are just a few of the most popular free plugins you can choose from. If you want to create a beautiful image gallery, start with one of these WordPress plugins and upgrade to the pro version if you need additional features.