How to show related galleries in WordPress
WordPress has no built-in feature that automatically recommends related galleries. For a small site, add linked gallery cards below each gallery manually; for a larger library, use a gallery addon that can select or recommend related galleries for you.
- 01Choose how galleries are organised
- 02Add related links manually
- 03Make the links easy to scan
- 04Check the manual result
- 05Automate related recommendations
- 06Clear caches and retest
What you need
- Admin access to the WordPress site
- At least two published gallery pages
- A featured image or thumbnail for each gallery
Choose how galleries are organised
Decide whether each gallery lives on its own WordPress page, post, or gallery-plugin URL. WordPress's core Gallery block and [gallery] shortcode display images, but they do not create a related-galleries system or work out which galleries are similar.
Use consistent titles, featured images, and categories or tags if your gallery plugin supports them. This makes manual linking clearer and gives an automated tool better information to work with.
Add related links manually
Edit a gallery page and place a heading such as More galleries below the main gallery. Add a row of Image, Columns, or Query Loop blocks, then give each item a thumbnail, gallery title, short description, and link to the relevant gallery page.
Choose three to six genuinely related galleries. Repeat the section on each page, or add it once to a reusable block or site template if your theme supports that. The drawback is maintenance: when a gallery is renamed, unpublished, or moved, you must check and update every link.
Make the links easy to scan
Use the same thumbnail size and card layout throughout the section. Link the image and title to the gallery page rather than opening another copy of the images in a lightbox. Add descriptive link text instead of labels such as Click here.
Preview the page on a phone. A common failure is a card grid that becomes too narrow, pushes the gallery below an unexpected amount of whitespace, or sends visitors to an unpublished page.
Check the manual result
Open several gallery pages in a logged-out browser window and test every related link. Confirm that the current gallery is not listed as its own recommendation, private or draft galleries are not exposed, and the section appears below the gallery rather than inside its lightbox.
This manual route is fine when you have a small, stable collection and want full editorial control. It becomes tedious when you publish galleries regularly or need different recommendations on dozens of pages.
Automate related recommendations
For a larger gallery library, install a gallery tool that has a related-galleries feature rather than only gallery creation or filtering. Envira Gallery Related Galleries Addon is designed to show similar galleries beneath each gallery and can use automatic recommendations or manually selected galleries.
After activating the addon from the Envira Gallery add-ons screen, review the related-gallery controls in a gallery's editor. Envira's current release describes automatic recommendations of up to three related gallery cards after galleries and albums, with a per-gallery option to turn the feature off.
Clear caches and retest
Save the gallery, clear any page or object cache, and check the public URL again. If the addon appears active but recommendations are missing, first check that the gallery is published and that related content has not been disabled for that gallery.
Envira documents clearing its own cache and transients when addon changes or newly available addons do not appear correctly in the dashboard.
Let Envira Gallery Related Galleries Addon do it
Automatically or manually recommends similar galleries beneath each gallery, unlike tools focused only on creating or filtering galleries.
Sources
- developer.wordpress.org /themes/classic-themes/functionality/media/galleries/?utm_so…
- enviragallery.com /new-explore-related-galleries-3-new-layouts-faster-loading-…
- enviragallery.com /docs/activate-addons/?utm_source=openai
Questions
- Can WordPress automatically show related galleries?
- No, WordPress core does not automatically match one gallery with another. Its Gallery block and shortcode display selected or attached images, while related recommendations require a manual set of links, custom development, or a gallery plugin with that feature.
- What is the simplest manual method?
- The simplest method is to add a row of linked image cards below each gallery page. Give each card a thumbnail and title, link it to another gallery page, and repeat the section across your site. This works well for a small collection, but you must update links yourself when galleries are renamed, moved, unpublished, or replaced.
- Can I use categories or tags to group related galleries?
- Yes, categories or tags can help you organise gallery pages and can support an automated or developer-built recommendation system. They do not create related gallery cards by themselves. You still need a block, template, shortcode, custom code, or plugin that reads those terms and outputs links.
- Why are related galleries missing after I enable an addon?
- Related galleries may be missing because the addon is not activated, the current gallery is unpublished, related content is disabled for that gallery, or a cache is showing an older page. Check the gallery editor and the public page first, then clear the gallery, page, and browser caches. Envira also recommends flushing its cache and transients when addon changes do not appear correctly.