Responsive Media Foobox Image Lightboxes for WordPress

Your site already has several lightboxes, and each image opens whichever it gets

A blog image opens with your theme's effect, the gallery with its plugin's, and a photo in an old post takes you off the page. Nobody chose that behavior: it built up with each install. That is why, when adding a lightbox to a site with years of content, the first job is to take the click away from the ones already there, even before choosing colors or animations.

FooBox opens images and galleries, and in its PRO edition also videos, forms, iFrames and HTML, in a responsive overlay that keeps the visitor on the same page. Its least flashy part is the one that clears up that mess: it disables other lightboxes, can take over WordPress's Expand on click intent and links old images without editing each post.

Taking control of the click on published content

• Disable Other Lightboxes: the option is on the Advanced tab of its settings.
• Scripts built into the theme: it tries to remove prettyPhoto, FancyBox, FancyZoom, ColorBox and MagnificPopup when the theme offers no way to turn them off.
• Auto Link Existing Images: it wraps old unlinked images so they open in FooBox, without touching each post.
• Expand on click: FooBox can take over that WordPress option so the lightbox is the same across the site.
• Galleries: it works with WordPress galleries, FooGallery, NextGEN Gallery and Envira Gallery, among others.

The cleanest route is still to turn off the other lightbox from its own options.

What the PRO edition adds to the basic lightbox

The free version opens visual content with image captions, and in the block editor it covers Image, Gallery and buttons that target an image. FooBox PRO adds:

• Video: YouTube and its Shorts, Vimeo, Wistia, Dailymotion and direct MP4, WebM, WMV and OGV files, opened from a text link or a thumbnail.
• Other content: HTML, iFrames, shortcodes, hidden Group block content and Gravity Forms.
• Sharing: social icons, email sharing, original image download and a dedicated link for each item.
• Design: 4 themes, color schemes and custom colors, icon sets and 12 open and close animations.
• Presentation: slideshows with autoplay and large-image panning with an optional minimap.
• Selling: WooCommerce product images and Fotomoto buy buttons inside the lightbox.

The weight of loading FooBox everywhere

By default, FooBox loads its JavaScript and CSS on every page and post, because shortcodes and plugins make it hard to predict where it will be needed. That is reasonable on an image-heavy site. If you only use it on one or two pages, another approach suits it better:

• Exclude per page: check the box in the FooBox Javascript & CSS panel on that page or post.
• Exclude site-wide: under Advanced, Exclude FooBox Assets stops loading the files, and the same panel then offers to include them where needed.

It can also move scripts to the footer. These controls, like Disable Other Lightboxes, are part of FooBox PRO. Its features do not include image compression or organizing a gallery library.

It works on activation: here is what to check

It needs no configuration to open simple images. For a site with history, follow this order:

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Turn off the lightboxes in your theme and other plugins from their options.
3. Enable Disable Other Lightboxes if any still appears.
4. Enable Auto Link Existing Images if you have old posts with unlinked images.
5. Open an old post, a gallery and a page on mobile to confirm everything uses the same lightbox.

When your work goes beyond the lightbox

If the problem is organizing lots of photos, FooGallery, from the same maker, brings filtering, search and loading in parts, and FooBox PRO can open its galleries. Envira Gallery is another gallery manager FooBox is compatible with.

To compare with another lightbox in the catalog, there is Meow Lightbox Pro.

Answers about FooBox on your site

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. It adapts to the screen and navigation supports touch gestures.

Can each image have its own link?

Yes, with FooBox PRO deeplinking, useful for sharing a specific item.

Can photos be sold from the lightbox?

With Fotomoto, buy buttons and the cart appear inside the lightbox.