A lightbox is an overlay that goes over the site and shows the larger version of the image when a reader clicks on an image.   They are designed to showcase the image so readers can zoom in on your photos without navigating away from the page.

When the Lightbox for Images plugin is activated in Plugins > All it automatically adds a lightbox to all images and galleries.

Click on the image inserted below to see how it works:

Sunset Coast Tourist Drive
Sunset Coast Tourist Drive

Use Lightbox

Images need to be link to their Media Files when inserted into posts and pages for images, or images in galleries, to open in a lightbox.

How you link the media file to an image depends on if you are using the block editor or the classic editor.

Block Editor

The following section explains how to link the media file to an image using the block editor. If you are using the classic editor, refer to the classic editor section.

If you are using the block editor you need to click on the Link icon in the image block toolbar after you’ve uploaded the image and select Media file to link to the media file.

Link to media file in image block

After inserting images using a gallery block you need to select the each image and use the Link to option in the block settings to link to the media file.

Link to media file using Gallery block

Classic Editor

The following section explains how to link the media file an image using the classic editor. If you are using the block editor, refer the block editor section.

If you are using the classic editor you need to select the Link to Media file in the attachment details after uploading using Add Media before clicking on Insert Into Post.

Link to

Make sure you select Link to Media Files when inserting images into Galleries if you are using the classic editor.

Link to

Lightbox Examples

When readers click on an image in a post or page the image will load in an overlay and the rest of the page will darken.

Click on the image inserted below to see how it works:

Government House
Government House

When readers click on an image in a gallery the image will load in a overlay with forward and back arrows that allow them to scroll through the image gallery.

Click on any image inserted in the gallery below to see how it works:

Lightbox can be disabled on specific posts and pages using the Disable lightbox option within the post editor screen.

Disable Lightbox

There is no need to activate the Lightbox for Images plugin if you are using the Carousel module in the Jetpack plugin since it has its own lightbox solution.