One of the beautiful things about WordPress is there are many plugins available to handle tasks. If you’re looking for backups or security, then there are dozens to choose from. Page builder? Sure, there are so many out there!

When it comes to offering photo downloads in WordPress, only 1 plugin really comes to mind.

NextGEN Gallery has a whopping 1.3 million active users. It has made a name for itself over the years as the most robust and feature-rich gallery plugin for WordPress.

With NextGEN Gallery you can manage and fine tune your galleries with more precision and organization than any other gallery plugin. But the plugin on its own cannot offer downloads. That’s where extensions come into play.

There are two extensions for NextGEN Gallery which offer the ability to download images.

The first is called NextGEN Download Gallery and it offers a gallery display template with a download feature for selected or all images in a displayed gallery. The plugin is also free, which is nice for those on a budget.

But for anyone who wants advanced control over galleries and downloads, NextGEN Pro offers such capabilities. Images can be downloaded for free or for a fee. Download sizes can be made available at different prices, using pricelists. NextGEN Pro is a full e-commerce system for selling photos on WordPress. So photo downloads are just one part of the overall picture. (pun intended)