The exciting additions and updates to WordPress 5.9 seem to be never-ending, with countless new ways to boost your site’s UX, appearance, and SEO ranking. One of these new updates is the 5.9 Gallery Block.
Gallery Blocks are a fantastic way to add engaging detail to your site. And now, with WordPress 5.9, they’re even more dynamic. The latest major release includes some fundamental changes to Gallery Blocks, offering greater control and more in-depth customization.
New Gallery Block Customizations
In previous versions of WordPress, a gallery functioned as one universal element. Any links, alt text, or styles you added were applied to the whole set. Now, each image within the Gallery Block functions as an Image Block. You can see this clearly in List View, where each Image Block is nested underneath the Gallery.
Edit each image individually, making your gallery more eye-catching and personal to you. Customizations include:
Links
Add a separate link to each photo rather than linking the entire block. This is especially helpful when, for example, you’d like to link a blog post about a specific image. Or, if you’re not using your own images, you can select images from a variety of sources and link to each one.
Alt Text
Write unique alt text for each image in a gallery. Alt-text is an invisible description that explains the content of an image. Search engines index this text, so adding content to each image makes your site more dynamic. Plus, it boosts accessibility, as screen reader software will read the alt text aloud to blind or visually impaired site visitors.
Styles
You can also adjust the style of each image in your gallery, including shapes, borders, and duotones. Instead of one monotonous style, your new Gallery Blocks can look as fresh and creative as you’d like.
Detail at Your Fingertips
Whether you’re creating a portfolio to showcase your photography or you simply want to add more personalized elements to your site, WordPress 5.9’s revamped Gallery Block is incredibly useful. Unique links, alt text, and styles for each image not only make your pages more dynamic and user-friendly but also put you one step closer to creating a site perfectly customized to your brand.
