How to Add a Thumbnail Gallery in WordPress

Adding a thumbnail gallery in WordPress is similar to adding a picture.

Here’s a summary:

  • Click at the beginning of the line where you want the thumbnail gallery.
  • Click ‘Add Media’
  • Follow the prompts to upload or select images
  • Click ‘Create Gallery’
  • Click ‘Create a new gallery’
  • Click ‘Insert into Page’ or ‘Insert into Post’.
  • Click Publish/Update for your page or post.

Detailed Instructions

Let’s assume that you’re editing a page and you’d like the thumbnail gallery beneath the text.

Click at the end of the text just after the full stop, and press ‘Enter’ to move the cursor below the text.

Click the ‘Add Media’ button.

Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, Bega

Now you have a choice! You can insert images from your media library, or upload them from your computer.

To insert images from your media library, make sure you’ve selected the Media Library tab. Hold down the control key, and click your images.

Selected images have a tick in the top right hand corner:

Click Media Library and select images - Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, Bega

To upload images from your computer, select the Upload Files tab. Drag and drop your images into the window, or click ‘Select Files’ and find your image(s) on your computer.

Note: Resize your images before uploading them to avoid using up your space quota. 600px is usually wide enough.

You can select a row of images by clicking the first image, holding down the shift key and clicking the last image. You can add other images to your selection by holding down the control key when you click them.

Select Upload Files tab - Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, Bega

Click ‘Create Gallery’, then ‘Create a new gallery’:
Click Create Gallery - Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, BegaClick Create a new gallery - Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, Bega
Click below the thumbnails and enter captions if you want them. You can drag and drop images to rearrange them.
Check that the options are correct. For instance, you might want two images per line instead of three.
Then click ‘Insert Gallery’:
Click ‘Update’ to save your page, then view your page:

Thumbnail gallery in editing window - update and view page - Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, Bega

And this is the result:

Thumbnail gallery on page - update and view page - Inserting a thumbnail gallery -  Webhive - Web Design Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Cobargo, Bega

Congratulations! You’ve just created a WordPress thumbnail gallery!