Custom Captions WordPress Gallery
Add custom captions to your WordPress gallery with FooGallery. Combine image titles, descriptions, links and custom fields in one reusable caption template.
Pull image details into captions with placeholders.
Format captions with headings, text and links.
Custom caption templates require PRO Expert.
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Try the custom captions galleries
Browse the Image Viewer and Simple Portfolio examples below. On a desktop? Try the phone icons to see how each gallery fits a smaller screen.
Demo 1 : Custom captions in the Image Viewer layout
Use Prev and Next to browse the images. On a desktop, hover over an image to reveal its caption and demo link. On mobile, the captions are always visible. This example used ACF for storing each image’s metadata.
PRO Gallery Layouts
PRO Starter adds Grid, Slider, Polaroid and Spotlight layouts. Try the Grid gallery demo to see one of these layouts.
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Video Galleries
Create video-only or mixed image and video galleries with PRO Expert. Use YouTube, Vimeo or self-hosted video files.
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Tag Filtering
Use media tags or categories to organize images, then let visitors filter the gallery. Frontend filtering is included in PRO Expert.
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Dynamic Galleries
Populate galleries from server folders, media tags or WordPress post queries with PRO Expert, without selecting every image individually.
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Custom Captions
Use HTML and placeholders to combine image titles, captions, links and custom fields in a reusable caption template. Custom captions require PRO Expert.
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FooGallery Lightbox
FooGallery Free includes a built-in lightbox. Open larger images above the page with navigation, captions and optional thumbnail previews.
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Gallery Pagination
Split a gallery into pages with Simple Dots in FooGallery Free. PRO Expert adds numbered pages, Load More and Infinite Scroll.
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Animated Hover Presets
Apply ready-made animated hover presets to your gallery thumbnails with PRO Starter. Preview how each preset reveals captions when you hover.
View DemoDevice preview switcher available on desktop devices
Demo 2 : Custom captions in a Portfolio gallery
The Portfolio gallery layout keeps the captions below each photo. Click a photo to open the lightbox.
Device preview switcher available on desktop devices
Create your first custom caption gallery in WordPress
Get FooGallery PRO Expert, add your photos and choose Custom in the Captions settings. Create a reusable template with image titles, descriptions, custom fields and links. Or follow our setup guide for more help on the custom captions feature, or how to create your own template.
Who this is for?
Give each image useful context.
Build a WordPress gallery with text that helps visitors understand each image. Set up the caption structure once, then fill in the details for each photo.
- PhotographersShow titles, locations or client notes from fields saved with each photo.
- Product teamsPair photos with product details and links to the relevant pages.
- PublishersReuse one caption template across a collection of images.
More FooGallery features
Explore more ways to style your galleries and display your photos, with a working demo for each feature.
Dynamic Gallery
Dynamic galleries load gallery content from another source instead of requiring every image to be selected manually.
EXIF Metadata
With FooGallery PRO Expert, you can include EXIF data with your gallery images. This exif data tells you about technical aspects of the image and how it was taken.
Filtering
FooGallery Pro Expert allows you to add frontend filtering to your photo gallery, simply by using media tags or categories.
Questions about custom captions
Custom captions combine image metadata and HTML in a reusable template. For example, {{caption}} inserts an image’s caption. You can also use attachment fields created with ACF or Pods to add details such as a location or product reference.
Custom caption templates require FooGallery PRO Expert and are also included in PRO Commerce. They are not included in Free or PRO Starter. You can compare plans for other features.
Normal captions use an image’s title, caption, description or alt text. Custom captions let you combine those values with custom fields and HTML in one template. Add headings, bold text or links, and use custom CSS when you want to style a link as a button.
In FooGallery PRO Expert, open your gallery’s Captions settings and select Custom. Build your template using the available placeholders, such as {{title}} and {{caption}}, then add HTML for headings or links. Save the gallery to apply the template to its images. For captions added directly in the WordPress editor or Media Library, see our guide to adding WordPress image captions.
Yes. FooGallery’s Simple Portfolio layout displays captions below each image. Other layouts can display captions over the image, either on hover or permanently. Choose the layout and caption visibility that suit how visitors will browse your gallery.
Yes. Add an HTML link to your custom caption template. You can use the {{custom_url}} placeholder to give each image a different destination, such as a product page or project. Populate the corresponding URL for each image.
Check that the fields used in your template contain values for each image. If you use ACF or Pods placeholders, the corresponding plugin must also be active. Check caption visibility too: captions set to appear on hover remain hidden until the image is hovered over.
Create your own custom captions in WordPress
Choose PRO Expert to build captions from image metadata, custom fields and HTML. The setup guide walks you through the template and field options.