Lightbox with PhotoSwipe
by Arno Welzel · Media
Also makes 4 other plugins · 28.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Integration of PhotoSwipe (http://photoswipe.com) for WordPress.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 92/100
no flags
Active installs
20K+
≈29K estimated
Momentum
-24%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “gallery”, “images” and “attachments” for “lightbox gallery”, “tiled gallery” and “attachment”. “gallery” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “lightbox gallery” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “images” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “tiled gallery” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “attachments” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #17. “attachment” sits at #22 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
92 health vs 62 average across 3,284 Media plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.8%
of downloads still active
At least 20K of 1.1M lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Media plugin keeps 0.8%, across 2,319 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Media plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 20 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 63 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 115 reviews, smoothed to 4.66★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
2 of 3 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
28
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.9
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
11%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-2.0
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| photoswipe your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| lightbox your tag | #2 | #2 | down 1 |
| wordpress lightbox | #4 | #4 | down 3 |
| exif | #9 | #7 | down 1 |
| attachments your tag | #17 | #14 | down 6 |
| lightbox gallery | #10 | #10 | down 4 |
| tiled gallery | #11 | #11 | down 2 |
| http | #17 | #11 | 0 |
| wordpress lightbox gallery | #7 | #7 | down 3 |
| gallery and lightbox | #9 | #9 | down 2 |
| gallery lightbox | #10 | #10 | down 2 |
| attachment | #22 | #17 | down 7 |
| gallery your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| images your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
85 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 12 listed. 73 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “gallery”, “images” and “attachments” for “lightbox gallery”, “tiled gallery” and “attachment”. “gallery” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “lightbox gallery” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “images” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “tiled gallery” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “attachments” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #17. “attachment” sits at #22 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- Slipping on “attachments”. Down 6 places since 2026-09-20, now #17. Check what shipped around then, and what moved above you.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 68.7K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
20
releases in the last 12 months
2mo ago
latest release · v5.13.0 · 30 Aug 2026
25
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “20K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4.7 years ago; the previous band took 18 months to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Jan 2019
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 5.9.6 Extended HTML whitelisting for captions to allow links with optional target and style as well. 5.9.6
- — Version 5.9.3 Removed HTML tags in translatable strings for the backend settings. Updated translation. 5.9.3
- — Version 5.9.2 Fixed formatting of EXIF data which broke due to the changes in version 5.9.0. 5.9.2
- — Version 5.9.1 Updated translation. 5.9.1
- — Version 5.9.0 Increased minimum required WordPress version to 6.5.0. Fixed vulnerability which allowed frontend code injection using captions. Refactored code to follow current WordPress coding guidelines. 5.9.0
- — Version 5.8.7 Fixed issue which prevented uninstalling the plugin in WordPress. 5.8.7
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (5.13.0). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Lightbox with PhotoSwipe <= 5.8.0 - Authenticated (Author+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2026-07-13 CVE-2026-14833 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 5.8.0 Patched in 5.9.0
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 12 languages, 2 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,012 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "attachments", "lightbox" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2022-02-23 10K+ → 20K+ up after 538 days in tier
- 2020-09-03 5K+ → 10K+ up after 296 days in tier
- 2019-11-12 3K+ → 5K+ up after 162 days in tier
- 2019-06-03 1K+ → 3K+ up after 153 days in tier
- 2019-01-01 900+ → 1K+ up after 30 days in tier
- 2018-12-02 600+ → 900+ up after 31 days in tier
- 2018-11-01 500+ → 600+ up after 29 days in tier
- 2018-10-03 400+ → 500+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ installs · 4.9★ · 3 shared tags B -
Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags B -
Photoswipe Masonry 6K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A -
Easy Image Gallery 4K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A - C Cleaner Gallery 2K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Lightbox with PhotoSwipe into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/lightbox-photoswipe" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Lightbox with PhotoSwipe — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Lightbox with PhotoSwipe: 20K+ active installs, 4.9★ (115 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/lightbox-photoswipe
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