---
title: "Photo Gallery (10Web)"
description: "Photo Gallery by 10Web free or Premium: strengths, limitations, pricing, recommended performance settings and patched vulnerabilities, to choose well."
language: "en"
locale: "en-US"
type: "plugin-sheet"
canonical: "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/photo-gallery/"
published: "2026-11-05T08:00:00+00:00"
modified: "2026-11-05T21:19:20+00:00"
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  es-ES: "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/funcionalidades/plugins-camuflados/photo-gallery/index.md"
  de-DE: "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/funktionen/getarnte-plugins/photo-gallery/index.md"
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---

# Photo Gallery (10Web)

Photo Gallery by 10Web builds image and video galleries, gallery groups and a lightbox, with many free views. Our take on the free and Premium versions, the performance settings to turn on and the vulnerabilities patched in 2026 worth knowing.

## The essentials

- Best for photographers or nonprofits that want lots of gallery views and free watermarking.
- Main caveat: galleries live outside the Media Library, in the plugin’s own folder and tables.
- Free; Basic costs $30 for one site and Pro $60 for 5 sites, with 6 months of updates.

## What Photo Gallery does on your site

Photo Gallery, made by 10Web, builds image and video galleries and collects them into gallery groups, its name for albums. You add images through its own file manager or from the WordPress Media Library, or you embed YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos and Instagram posts by pasting their URL. Each image gets a title, a description and tags, and the plugin can crop, resize and stamp a text or image watermark.

Galleries display as thumbnails, mosaic, masonry, slideshow, image browser or blog style, and gallery groups as compact or extended albums. A click opens a full-screen lightbox with 15 transition effects and a filmstrip of thumbnails. You place a gallery with the Photo Gallery block, the Elementor widget, a classic widget or the `[Best_Wordpress_Gallery]` shortcode, which the “Generate Shortcode” screen builds for you.

One technical point matters: images uploaded through the plugin are stored in the `wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery` folder and tracked in the plugin’s own database tables (`bwg_gallery`, `bwg_image`, `bwg_album`...), not in the Media Library. The free version is backed by a Premium version sold by 10Web, which adds image comments and ratings, role management and gallery export and import between sites, among other things.

![Diagram: Photo Gallery (10Web) works on visitors and bots, database and files, external services. Public traces: folder name (hidden with Pro); tag IDs (hidden with Pro); generated-file folders (hidden with Pro); JavaScript variables (still visible).](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/media/wpm-sheets/photo-gallery/diagram-en.svg?v=25abfeff)

## Which sites Photo Gallery suits

Photo Gallery fits when you want plenty of gallery layouts without paying:

- **Photographers and artists**: thumbnails, mosaic, masonry, slideshow and gallery groups are free, along with watermarking and right-click protection.
- **Nonprofits, clubs and event sites**: dozens of galleries sorted into groups and by tags stay easy to browse.
- **Sites that mix photos and video**: one gallery can hold images alongside embedded YouTube or Vimeo videos.
- **Sites built with Elementor or the block editor**: a dedicated widget and block spare you from handling shortcodes.

It’s not the best pick if you want your galleries to live in the WordPress Media Library, so you can switch plugins later without rebuilding everything: [FooGallery](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/foogallery/) and [Envira Gallery](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/envira-gallery/) build on it. For a site that sells its photos or manages thousands of images in albums, also compare [NextGEN Gallery](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/nextgen-gallery/).

## Photo Gallery strengths and limitations

### Strengths

- **Lots of free views.** The pricing page lists 9 gallery and group views in the free version, against 10 in the paid plans.
- **Watermarking included.** Text or image watermarks and right-click protection come at no cost.
- **Images and video side by side.** YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and Instagram items join a gallery from their URL.
- **Inexpensive paid plans.** $30 for one site and $60 for 5 sites, according to 10Web’s pricing page.

### Limitations

- **Galleries outside the Media Library.** A folder and tables of its own: switching plugins means recreating your galleries.
- **Useful features behind the paywall.** Comments, ratings, role management and gallery export or import require a paid plan.
- **Only six months of updates.** The listed paid plans include 6 months of updates and email support.
- **Performance settings off by default.** Lazy loading and loading scripts only on gallery pages must be turned on by hand.
- **A long run of vulnerabilities.** SQL injections and a PHP object injection patched in 2026, with a security fix in nearly every release.

## The settings we recommend for Photo Gallery

Every setting below lives under Photo Gallery > Global Settings, on the General tab. Click “Save options” after each change.

| Setting | Recommended value | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Include styles/scripts on gallery pages only**  Photo Gallery > Global Settings > General | Yes (No by default) | The plugin’s CSS and JavaScript files then load only on pages that show a gallery. Afterward, check any gallery placed through a widget. |
| **Lazy load**  Same tab | Yes (No by default) | Images load as they approach the screen. Measure a gallery page’s [Core Web Vitals](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/core-web-vitals/) before and after. |
| **Image dimensions**  Same tab | 1200 x 1200 by default, or the largest size you actually display | Uploaded images are scaled down to this maximum; 10Web recommends images 1200 to 1600 pixels wide. |
| **Image quality**  Same tab | 75% (the default) to 85% | Beyond that, file weight grows for a gain that is hard to see in a gallery. |
| **Enable Google fonts**  Same tab | No, if your galleries use no Google font | On by default, this setting loads the Google fonts used by your gallery themes from Google’s servers: one more request, and one more item to cover under the GDPR. |
| **Discourage Search Engine Visibility**  Same tab | Yes (the default) | The plugin’s custom posts stay out of the index, so only your pages that present the galleries are offered to search engines. |
| **Developer mode**  Same tab | No (the default) | When on, it loads unminified JS and CSS files: keep it for debugging. |

- After limiting scripts to gallery pages, open one page with a gallery and one without: the first should display normally, and the second should no longer load the plugin’s files.
- Open the lightbox on a phone and check that the arrows and the close button respond.
- Fill in the alt text of the images in each gallery: it describes the photo to search engines and screen readers.
- Include the `wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery` folder and the plugin’s tables in your backups, since the galleries are not in the Media Library.

## Photo Gallery security: patches to follow closely

Patchstack lists several dozen vulnerabilities fixed in Photo Gallery over its lifetime, and the changelog announces a security fix in almost every release since 1.8.37. The most serious ones from 2026 require a writing account, which matters on a site with several authors:

- **CVE-2026-102377, fixed in 1.8.47**: PHP object injection from a contributor account, rated 8.8 out of 10.
- **CVE-2026-7048, versions up to 1.8.40**: [SQL injection](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/sql-injection/) through the shortcode’s `order_by` attribute, from a contributor account.
- **CVE-2026-85652, versions up to 1.8.44**: SQL injection through the shortcode’s `album_id` attribute, from an author account.
- **CVE-2025-0613, fixed in 1.8.34**: unauthenticated stored XSS through comments left on images.

Turn on automatic updates for Photo Gallery under Plugins (see our guide to automatic plugin updates) and give the contributor and author roles only to people who need them, as our article on WordPress roles and capabilities explains. WP Masquerade Pro renames the `photo-gallery` folder in file URLs and inside `uploads`, along with the IDs of its styles and scripts, which makes the plugin harder for bots to spot without replacing the update; its JavaScript variables `bwg_objectsL10n`, `bwg_ajax_url` and `twb` stay visible.

## Photo Gallery FAQ

**Is the free version of Photo Gallery enough?**

For galleries and gallery groups with a lightbox, watermarks and embedded videos, yes. A paid plan makes sense for image comments and ratings, role management, gallery export or import and the extra view.

**How much does Photo Gallery Premium cost?**

10Web’s pricing page shows $30 for one site (Basic) and $60 for 5 sites (Pro), with 6 months of updates and email support. A $100 plan for 30 sites adds other 10Web plugins and chat support.

**Where does Photo Gallery store images?**

In the `wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery` folder, with their details in the plugin’s tables. Images imported from the Media Library are copied there: removing the plugin through its “Uninstall” screen deletes the galleries and their data.

**How do I display a gallery on a page?**

In the block editor, add the Photo Gallery block and pick the gallery and the view. With Elementor, use the plugin’s widget; anywhere else, paste the shortcode built by the “Generate Shortcode” screen.

## Key facts

- Category: Images and sliders
- Vendor: 10Web
- Price: Free; Basic costs $30 for one site with 6 months of updates (Pro: $60 for 5 sites)
- Active installations (wordpress.org): 100 000+
- Version: 1.8.48
- Official page: https://wordpress.org/plugins/photo-gallery/

## What WP Masquerade hides

- Handled by WP Masquerade Pro only
- With Pro: folder name, tag IDs, generated-file folders
- Still visible: JavaScript variables