WordPress now allows you to create your own galleries using the images in your Media Library.

To create a new gallery;

1. Click the Add Media button. If you haven’t already added the images you’d like to be in the gallery, do so now.
2. Click the Create Gallery button on the left of the dialog box.
3. Simply click on each image you’d like to include in the gallery to select them. Now anything with a tick on it will be added to the gallery.
4. Click the blue “Create a new Gallery button” (Add to Gallery” if editing an existing gallery).
5. On this screen you can configure the gallery such as image order, captions, if you want to link to the image (allows a larger pop up), how many columns and the size of the gallery thumbnails. Once you are done click the blue Insert Gallery on the bottom right.
6. You should now be back to the Edit/Add Page screen and see your newly inserted gallery.

Using NextGEN Gallery

A good third party gallery plugin is NextGEN Gallery. It allows a wider degree of control over your galleries.

Creating a New Gallery

1. Once logged into your WordPress Dashboard, click on the Gallery link on the bottom left of your navigation.
2. Click Add Gallery/Images. This is where you go when you want to create a new gallery or add images to an existing gallery.
3. Create a gallery; simply give it a name and click the Add Gallery button.

Adding Images to a Gallery

Adding Images Individually

1. (following on from the previous step) To add images, click on the Upload Images tab to upload images individually. Click Browse, find the image you want to upload, and click the Open button. You can do this as many times as you like. When you have selected all your images, click on the drop-down box and choose the gallery you want to upload the new images to. Then click the Upload Images button.

Adding Images Via a Zip File

1. You can also add images using a zip file, which is a good solution if you have many images to upload. Simply click the Upload a Zip-File tab, click Browse to find the zip you would like to upload, click the Open button. Select the drop-down box to choose what gallery you are going to upload to, then click the Start upload button.
2. Once upload is complete, you can click on Manage Gallery from the left navigation menu (under Gallery) to view the gallery you have just created – Clicking on the gallery name will show you each image. Here you can rearrange the order, rename the images, add captions, or delete images you no longer want. Click Save Changes when done.

Adding a Gallery to a Page or Post

There are 2 ways you can do this;

Method 1; Good for adding a gallery to an existing page

1. You can take the “shortcode” that you were shown when you created the gallery and paste it into a page or post. [nggallery id=8] where the 8 is the gallery number/ID.

Method 2; Creates a new blank page linked to a “parent” page on the site navigation menu

1. Click on Manage Gallery, then click on the gallery you want to add to your page or post.
2. On the right will be some drop-down boxes. Select the one that says Create new page. Here you are going to select the page you want the gallery to be linked to, then click Add Page. It will be created as a subpage, meaning if you add it to the homepage, when you put your mouse cursor on the homepage link, there will be a drop-down menu showing the gallery page link.

* If you add the page to the wrong “parent” page, you can click on the Pages link in your left navigation and rearrange the order like you would any other page.