Lightweight WordPress gallery plugin

Beautiful image galleries,
made simple.

Build responsive galleries with a grid, slider, and a modern lightbox — all from one clean screen. Pure vanilla JavaScript, no jQuery, no bloat.

  • 100% Free
  • No jQuery
  • Gutenberg Ready
  • Translation Ready
Download Free See screenshots

Free & open source · GPLv2 · Works with the block editor

Artclick Gallery Lite admin — editing a gallery with images, captions and a shortcode
Loads only when needed No database tables Accessibility first Translation ready
Features in detail

Everything Artclick Gallery Lite can do

A complete toolkit for galleries, sliders, and lightboxes — every option laid out clearly.

Grid & layout

Lay out your images exactly how you want.

  • 1–6 columns, set separately for desktop, tablet & mobile
  • Aspect ratios: Original, 1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, 3:2
  • Image fit — cover or contain
  • Adjustable rounded corners
  • Independent horizontal & vertical spacing
  • Hover effects: zoom, lift, grayscale, brighten

Slider & carousel

Turn any gallery into a slider with one setting.

  • Switch between grid and slider modes
  • “Slides to show” per device — build multi-item carousels
  • Autoplay with adjustable speed
  • Loop, plus slide or fade transitions
  • Previous / next arrows with a custom color
  • Dots over the slider or below, with a custom color

Modern lightbox

An accessible, fullscreen viewing experience.

  • Opens on click with previous / next, close & ESC
  • Click-outside to close and an image counter
  • Clickable thumbnail filmstrip
  • Optional slideshow (play / pause) button
  • Touch-swipe and full keyboard navigation
  • Focus trapping for accessibility

Captions

Add context and credits under every image.

  • A caption for each image
  • Show or hide captions globally
  • Adjustable caption font size
  • Alignment: left, center, or right
  • Position: below the image or over it

Ways to insert

Drop a gallery anywhere on your site.

  • Shortcode [artclick_gallery id="…"]
  • Override per placement: columns, layout, spacing, lightbox, captions
  • Gutenberg block with a live preview
  • Classic / TinyMCE insert button
  • Optional lightbox for normal post & page images

Performance

Fast by design, light on your site.

  • Pure vanilla JavaScript — no jQuery
  • Minified CSS & JS
  • Assets load only on pages that have a gallery
  • Native lazy loading with no layout shift
  • Data stored in post meta — no custom database tables

Admin & management

Manage every gallery from one clean screen.

  • Unlimited galleries in a dedicated admin
  • Drag-and-drop image reordering
  • One-click gallery duplication
  • Global defaults for new galleries
  • Thumbnail image-size control
  • Clean uninstall — removes its own data

Accessibility & translations

Accessible controls, with English & Japanese built in.

  • ARIA labels and visible focus states
  • Screen-reader friendly controls
  • Respects “prefers-reduced-motion”
  • Translation ready (.pot included)
  • Ships with a Japanese translation
See it in action

Everything in one clean admin

Set every option without leaving the page. Pick a tab to take a look.

Layout and appearance settings
Grid or slider, per-device columns, spacing, aspect ratio, image fit, rounded corners, and hover effects.
Lightbox, captions and slider settings
Caption controls, image counter, thumbnail strip, slideshow, arrows, dots position & color, autoplay and loop.
Global default settings page
Site-wide defaults for new galleries, thumbnail size, native lazy loading, and an optional content-image lightbox.
Why Artclick

A gallery plugin that respects your site

Fast, clean, and genuinely free — here's why it's worth installing.

Won't slow your site

Pure vanilla JavaScript, no jQuery, and assets that load only on pages with a gallery — your pages stay fast and your Core Web Vitals stay healthy.

Won't bloat your database

Galleries live in standard post meta — no custom tables, no leftover rows. Uninstall and it cleans up after itself completely.

Free, with no catch

Every feature on this page is in the free plugin under the GPLv2 license — no locked options, no upsell walls, no account required.

Built for everyone

Block editor, shortcode, keyboard and screen-reader support, and reduced-motion — accessible and easy to use from day one.

0
jQuery dependencies
0
Custom database tables
6
Columns, fully responsive
100%
Free & open source
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Everything you might want to know before installing.

Is Artclick Gallery Lite really free?

Yes. Every feature on this page is included in the free plugin, released under the GPLv2 license — no locked options, no upsell walls, and no account required.

Does it work with the WordPress block editor?

Yes. You can insert galleries with a Gutenberg block (with a live preview), a shortcode, or a classic-editor button — whichever you prefer.

Does the plugin use jQuery?

No. The frontend is 100% vanilla JavaScript with minified assets that load only on pages that actually contain a gallery, so your site stays fast.

Can I build a slider or carousel?

Yes. Switch the layout to slider mode to get autoplay, loop, arrows, dots, and slide or fade transitions — and show one image or several at once for a multi-item carousel.

Is it accessible and translation-ready?

Yes. It ships with ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, visible focus states, and reduced-motion support. The plugin is translation-ready and includes a Japanese translation.

Where is my gallery data stored?

In standard WordPress post meta — no custom database tables are created, and uninstalling the plugin removes its data cleanly.

Ready to build beautiful galleries?

Download Artclick Gallery Lite from WordPress.org and start creating today — completely free.

Download Free on WordPress.org