jQuery Masonry Image Gallery
Adds a Masonry layout to all galleries that are using the WordPress [gallery] shortcode. Looks best on galleries that are not using 1:1 ratio thumbnails.
Use with caution
jQuery Masonry Image Gallery works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 1K+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 9 years ago, and scores 43/100 on our health check.
- Loved by users — 4.8/5 from 31 reviews
- No update in 8 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.7 (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 jQuery Masonry Image Gallery stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| gallery | >100 |
| jquery masonry | >100 |
| lazy load | >100 |
| masonry | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 from 31 reviews
About jQuery Masonry Image Gallery
From the official readme · v3.0.2Description
Adds a Masonry layout to all galleries that are using the WordPress [gallery] shortcode. Looks best on galleries that are not using 1:1 ratio thumbnails.
Now includes optional Lazy Load for larger galleries and hover captions!
Please note: By default this plugin includes CSS that will overwrite the existing gallery layout. However, you can turn off some or all of the jMIG layout CSS on the options page under Settings.
This plugin also includes 1 CSS file that is for animation purposes only (Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE 10+). The entire gallery will fade in using a CSS3 animation once all the images have loaded. IE 8 and IE 9 will work, but will not fade in.
Installation
- Upload
jquery-masonry-image-galleryfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to Settings -> Jmig options if you need to change settings
- That’s it!
Changelog
3.0 - Added in an option for Lazy Load. Added in hover captions that are enabled by default, but can be turned off. Includes option to exclude the Lazy Load library to help avoid other plugin or theme conflicts. Also, removed the has_shortcode conditional since it feels like more and more people are putting the gallery shortcode in fields generated by ACF, Meta Fields, etc. Also, started setting up the plugin for multiple language support. Still working through it, hope to have Spanish, German, French and Russian sometime in Summer of 2015. 2.2 - Adds in new layout CSS with the option to turn it off for backwards compatibility 2.1.6 - Fixed a minor issue with server side caching and IE 9 and below 2.1.5 - Better support for WordPress 3.9 (Vanilla JS now supports multiple galleries on a page or post) 2.1.4 - Better support for pages and posts with multiple galleries. 2.1.3 - Better performance on WordPress 3.9+ using the vanilla js option included in Masonry 3. Galleries now fade-in after all images have loaded in modern browsers and IE 10+. Backwards compatibility included for IE 8 and IE 9 (loads, but no fade). This is the last release that will support WordPress 3.5 . The next release will still support WordPress 3.6 . 1.6 - Added options page to let users decide to either respect WordPress columns or let Masonry layout gallery 1.3 - Typo 1.2 - Better version detection 1.1 - Better backwards compatiblity with WordPress 3.5 1.0 - Big update. Now uses the new has_shortcode function available in WP 3.6 with fallback for older version of WP. Also uses thumbnail size for better resizing during window resize. Only injects 1 line of CSS for thumbnail size. 0.4 - Minor code update 0.3 - Galleries center when images realign on window size change. 0.2 - Bug Fix. Update Now. 0.1 - First Release
3.0.2 – Minor update to fix width and height of emojis in captions.
3.0 – Added in an option for Lazy Load. Added in hover captions that are enabled by default, but can be turned off. Includes option to exclude the Lazy Load library to help avoid other plugin or theme conflicts. Also, removed the has_shortcode conditional since it feels like more and more people are putting the gallery shortcode in fields generated by ACF, Meta Fields, etc. Also, started setting up the plugin for multiple language support. Still working through it, hope to have Spanish, German, French and Russian sometime in Summer of 2015.
2.2 – Adds in new layout CSS with the option to turn it off for backwards compatibility
2.1.6 – Fixed a minor issue with server side caching and IE 9 and below
2.1.5 – Better support for WordPress 3.9 (Vanilla JS now supports multiple galleries on a page or post)
2.1.4 – Better support for pages and posts with multiple galleries.
2.1.3 – Better performance on WordPress 3.9+ using the vanilla js option included in Masonry 3. Galleries now fade-in after all images have loaded in modern browsers and IE 10+. Backwards compatibility included for IE 8 and IE 9 (loads, but no fade). This is the last release that will support WordPress 3.5 . The next release will still support WordPress 3.6 .
1.6 – Added options page to let users decide to either respect WordPress columns or let Masonry layout gallery
1.3 – Typo
1.2 – Better version detection
1.1 – Better backwards compatiblity with WordPress 3.5
1.0 – Big update. Now uses the new has_shortcode function available in WP 3.6 with fallback for older version of WP. Also uses thumbnail size for better resizing during window resize. Only injects 1 line of CSS for thumbnail size.
0.4 – Minor code update
0.3 – Galleries center when images realign on window size change.
0.2 – Fixed bug, added screenshots, plugin header, revised documentation.
0.1 – First Release
Screenshots
For developers
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Best jQuery Masonry Image Gallery alternatives
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FAQ
jQuery Masonry Image Gallery: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is jQuery Masonry Image Gallery free?
Yes. jQuery Masonry Image Gallery is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is jQuery Masonry Image Gallery safe to use in 2026?
jQuery Masonry Image Gallery works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 1K+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 9 years ago, and scores 43/100 on our health check.
How many websites use jQuery Masonry Image Gallery?
jQuery Masonry Image Gallery is active on 1K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 73,573 times since it launched in May 2013. It was downloaded 192 times in the last 30 days.
Does jQuery Masonry Image Gallery work with WordPress 7.1?
jQuery Masonry Image Gallery is officially tested up to WordPress 4.7.37, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was jQuery Masonry Image Gallery last updated?
The latest version, 3.0.2, was released on November 28, 2017 (9 years ago).
Who makes jQuery Masonry Image Gallery?
jQuery Masonry Image Gallery is developed and maintained by phoenixMagoo.
What are the best alternatives to jQuery Masonry Image Gallery?
The most popular alternatives to jQuery Masonry Image Gallery are Smart Slider 3 (800K+ installs), Slider, Gallery, and Carous… (500K+ installs) and Photo Gallery, Sliders, Pro… (300K+ installs).
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