Adding a Lightbox to Gallery Images in LT Themes

If you want a gallery where clicking an image opens it larger with arrow navigation, the simplest supported setup in LT themes is a standard WordPress Gallery block combined with a lightbox plugin. This article walks through the plugin we recommend, how to wire it up, and what to check if the effect does not appear.

The supported plugin path

The plugin we recommend for this effect is Lightbox with PhotoSwipe. It’s free, actively maintained on WordPress.org, and works cleanly alongside the Gallery block that all LT themes already style.

Setting up the lightbox

Once the plugin is installed, the whole setup takes a few minutes:

1. Install Lightbox with PhotoSwipe via Plugins → Add New, then click Activate.
2. Go to Settings → Lightbox with PhotoSwipe and enable support for WordPress (Gutenberg) galleries.
3. Edit the page where you want the gallery and insert a standard Gallery block.
4. Pick the grid layout that fits your page.
5. Preview the page and click an image to confirm the lightbox opens with navigation arrows.

Theme vs. plugin responsibilities

It helps to know which part of the setup belongs to which piece of software:

• Your LT theme handles the page design and the Gallery block’s on-page styling.
• The plugin adds the click-to-enlarge lightbox behavior on top of that gallery.
• When a theme demo shows a lightbox effect, it does not necessarily mean the behavior is coming from the theme alone — the demo site most likely has a lightbox plugin installed too.

Troubleshooting

If clicking an image does not open the lightbox, work through these checks in order:

• Confirm the block on the page is a standard Gallery block (not an Image block or a theme-specific block).
• Check the plugin setting that enables support for WordPress (Gutenberg) galleries — if it’s disabled, the plugin won’t attach to the gallery.
• Hard-refresh the page in your browser with ⌘ + Shift + R (macOS) or Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows/Linux) so the new plugin scripts load.
• If your site uses a caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, etc.), clear its cache so fresh scripts are served to all visitors.
• Test whether another lightbox plugin is conflicting by temporarily deactivating it.