Distinctive Lightbox
Add a stunning, yet lightweight lightbox to your site in seconds. Easy to configure via simple settings.
Consider an alternative
Distinctive Lightbox shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 30/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 3 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.1 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Distinctive Lightbox stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| images | >100 |
| lightbox | >100 |
| responsive | >100 |
| touch | >100 |
| zoom | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About Distinctive Lightbox
From the official readme · v1.0.4Description
Add a stunning lightbox to your website in seconds with Distinctive Lightbox.
Distinctive Lightbox is a lightweight, so you can expect no bloat here. Build using pure JavaScript, the plugin does not require additional libraries such as jQuery – meaning your users are only served the JS they need.
Features Overview
- Easy to use. The plugin can be activated on any link which leads to an image, or even just links with the class you choose – its up to you.
- Works with images & YouTube/Vimeo videos out of the box.
- Show you media meta data (image title/description) via user-controllable captions, automatically.
- Choose opening/closing/sliding animations to suit your tastes.
- Image captions can be positioned to suit your needs.
About the plugin
As with most good plugins, Distinctive Lightbox was created to fulfil a need we (DistinctivePixels) had for a bloat-free, simple to use lightbox that works just as well on a desktop as it does in the palm of your hand.
Although a few others offer some good options, we felt we could do better – so here we have our offering.
We wanted the plugin to be as easy to setup as possible, and once its setup, you should be able to forget it. With that the mind we have made the plugin very flexible in how you can turn a regular link into a lovely lightbox.
Want any link which which leads to an image to be a lightbox? No problem! You just want links with a specific class or ID to trigger them? You got it!
The same goes for YouTube/Vimeo links – some other plugins make a fuss over this, or even worse, dont support them! Not here, just like for images, if you want the plugin to sniff out these links and turn them into something pretty – we got you.
Installation
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/plugin-namedirectory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
- Use the Settings -> Distinctive Lightbox admin screen to configure the plugin to your needs.
Frequently asked questions
How does the plugin work?
Simply install and head to the plugins setting to configure how you would like Distinctive Lightbox to operate.
What media does Distinctive Lightbox support?
Currently, images and youtube/vimeo videos can all be shown in our lovely lightbox.
Sound like the plugin is heavy, is it?
No, not at all. We made Distinctive Lightbox to be as lightweight as it is simple to use, so much so that we dont even require jQuery! Just our lean and mean JavaScript.
Changelog
1.0.1 (2020-06-30)
Image Handling Tweaks
*Title can description can now be automatically added to nested images.
1.0.2 (2020-07-02)
JS/Caption Improvements
*Searching for media titles/descriptions is now more robust.
1.0.3 (2020-07-02)
Refining content filter
*Searching for media titles/descriptions is now quicker.
1.0.3 (2023-03-21)
Maintenence
*Bug fixes and version update.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Distinctive Lightbox alternatives
All images plugins →
FAQ
Distinctive Lightbox: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
Is Distinctive Lightbox free?
Yes. Distinctive Lightbox is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Distinctive Lightbox safe to use in 2026?
Distinctive Lightbox shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 30/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Distinctive Lightbox?
Distinctive Lightbox is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 3,421 times since it launched in May 2020. It was downloaded 37 times in the last 30 days.
Does Distinctive Lightbox work with WordPress 7.1?
Distinctive Lightbox is officially tested up to WordPress 6.1.14, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Distinctive Lightbox need?
Distinctive Lightbox requires PHP 7.0 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Distinctive Lightbox last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.4, was released on March 21, 2023 (4 years ago).
Who makes Distinctive Lightbox?
Distinctive Lightbox is developed and maintained by Danny Jones.
What are the best alternatives to Distinctive Lightbox?
The most popular alternatives to Distinctive Lightbox are Autoptimize (800K+ installs), WebP Express (300K+ installs) and Responsive Lightbox & Galle… (100K+ installs).
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