The WP Lightbox 2 plugin for WordPress

The WP Lightbox 2 plugin for WordPress effortlessly creates a beautiful lightbox effect when an image is selected -- adding to the user experience.

Table of contents

Introduction to the WP Lightbox 2 plugin for WP

WP Lightbox 2 is a free, easy-to-use, front-end WordPress plugin that is used to display images in a beautiful, responsive, lightbox-style overlay. It is intended to be used for photo albums or galleries but serves equally well serving single images as well.

The WP Lightbox 2 plugin details page under the Add new Plugin section.

When to use the WP Lightbox 2 plugin

A lightbox is a display unit where images (e.g photos and radiographs) are viewed on a dark background. This in essence makes image colours stand out more. A lightbox effect can be imitated on a computer screen by simply having a dark background and making the image stand out from the rest of the page.

The WP Lightbox plugin is indicated on any website where images play an important part in the content. This can either be for pages with one or two images, or those with multiple images.

This plugin is especially handy for websites where small images or thumbnails are used. WP Lightbox 2 will allow a larger, full-screen version to display after it has been clicked/pressed on.

The plugin does load additional JavaScript and CSS to the front end of a website, so for those who prefer speed over functionality, its use must be carefully considered.

The WP Lightbox 2 plugin

At the time of writing, WP Lightbox 2 plugin for WordPress had more than 70 00 active installs and an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars (from 90 user reviews). Maintenance was done about a month prior and the plugin was compatible with WordPress 3.0 or higher.

The official WP Lightbox 2 plugin page on WordPress.org.

According to the author, Syed Balkhi, version 3.0.6.5 of the plugin also boasts with multi-language support and the ability to be customised.

In its simplest form, WP Lightbox 2 automatically adds functionality that creates a responsive lightbox overlay when an image is selected by the viewer. All images on the WordPress site that is linked to its media file will be opened on the screen using this overlay.

Installing the WP Lightbox plugin

The WP Lightbox 2 plugin can be installed by typing its name in the search bar of the Add Plugins section under the Plugins Dashboard menu item. Plugin functionality will start working immediately after its activation. The link to its settings will be available on the WordPress Dashboard menu.

Using WP Lightbox 2 for WordPress

As mentioned earlier, the plugin will start to work immediately upon activation. The only requirement is that when Media images are added to a post/page, it needs to be Linked to its media file.

By default, the WordPress Media Display Settings links images to None. By clicking on the down arrow, the option to link the image to the media file can be selected.

WP Lightbox 2 pros

The plus points for WP Lightbox 2 are its ease of use and practical functionality. WP Lightbox 2 is fully responsive and loads functionality buttons automatically. Also, remember that this plugin is free! The plugin will start to function immediately — without any additional settings — after it has been activated.

WP Lightbox 2 cons

There is a small problem with Google speed insight, this plugin is added to the critical request chain which impacts loading speed negatively. The more prominent the length of the chains and the bigger the download sizes, the more critical the effect on page load execution.

Conclusion

The WP Lightbox 2 plugin for WordPress is an easy-to-use, yet elegant way to create a lightbox overlay for images on web pages. Although the plugin is free, it allows for further customisation of what the lightbox effect looks like and how it is displayed.