Imagely
The WordPress gallery plugin and theme for photographers
About Imagely
Imagely makes NextGEN Gallery, a WordPress gallery plugin first released in 2007, along with a photography-focused WordPress theme. Paid plans add gallery layouts, image protection, client proofing, and built-in eCommerce with automated print fulfillment, so photographers can show and sell their work from their own WordPress site. The free NextGEN Gallery plugin on WordPress.org covers basic galleries and albums.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Long track record: NextGEN Gallery has been maintained since 2007 and is installed on hundreds of thousands of WordPress sites
- Selling features built for photographers, including proofing, price lists, digital downloads, and automated print fulfillment with no Imagely markup
- Free version on WordPress.org lets you test core galleries before paying
- Adobe Lightroom sync fits existing photo workflows
- 14-day money-back guarantee on paid plans
Cons
- Advertised prices are first-year introductory rates; renewals cost twice as much
- eCommerce, proofing, and print fulfillment require the Pro plan or higher
- Works only on self-hosted WordPress sites, so you manage hosting and updates yourself
- Reviewers describe the settings as complex for beginners and the documentation as thin
Key Features
Gallery and album layouts
Filmstrip, masonry, mosaic, tile, blog-style, sidescroll, slideshow, and thumbnail galleries, plus grid and list album layouts, each with detailed display options.
Photography WordPress theme
An Imagely WordPress theme with 96+ themes and designs on the Pro plan, built to put photos at the center of the site.
Built-in eCommerce
Sell individual images or whole galleries with custom price lists, coupons, bulk discounts, automated tax calculations, and Stripe or PayPal checkout.
Automated print fulfillment
Orders for prints are printed and shipped to customers automatically through a white-label lab, with no markup from Imagely.
Image proofing
Clients pick the photos they want from a proofing gallery, which simplifies selection after a shoot.
Watermarking and image protection
Text or image watermarks with configurable position and fonts, plus right-click protection and password-protected galleries.
Adobe Lightroom integration
Sync galleries and albums with Adobe Lightroom to publish and update photos without re-uploading.
Digital downloads
Offer free or paid full-size digital downloads that are delivered automatically after purchase.
Frontend image search
Visitors can search gallery images by tags, alt text, and EXIF data.
Imagely CDN
An add-on content delivery network that serves gallery images from servers near each visitor to speed up load times.
Pricing
- Slideshow, thumbnail, and image browser galleries
- Compact and extended albums
- Unlimited galleries
- Gutenberg block support
- 1 website
- Unlimited galleries and images
- Lightbox displays and retina images
- Infinite scrolling
- Watermarking
- Standard support
- Introductory price; renews at $139/year
- Everything in Starter
- 3 websites
- Masonry, mosaic, tile, filmstrip, blog-style, and sidescroll galleries
- Image protection and commenting
- Social sharing and full-screen lightbox
- Secure original backups and frontend image search
- Introductory price; renews at $199/year
- Everything in Plus
- 5 websites
- 96+ themes and designs
- eCommerce, price lists, coupons, and optimized checkout
- Image proofing
- Automated print fulfillment and tax calculations
- Adobe Lightroom integration
- Free and paid digital downloads
- Premium support
- Introductory price; renews at $279/year
- Everything in Pro
- 25 websites
- Multisite support
- Premium support
- Introductory price; renews at $399/year
Best For
Photography portfolio sites
Professional and hobbyist photographers build a WordPress portfolio with gallery layouts and a photography theme.
Selling prints and downloads
Photographers sell prints that are printed and shipped automatically, plus digital downloads, without a separate store.
Client proofing
Wedding and event photographers share password-protected proofing galleries so clients choose which images to order.
Agencies managing photo sites
Agencies use the Ultra plan to run galleries across up to 25 client WordPress sites, including multisite networks.
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