Adding multiple images using WordPress Gutenberg

Posted on 13th March 2019 in Technique and Training, Web Design. So far there are 32 comments.
How to add multiple Gutenberg image blocks quickly

For some time now it is been frustrating me that, as a photographer, when I want to add multiple images to a blog post using the new WordPress Gutenberg interface I have to do each image one at a time.

In fact, it annoys me so much, that I started to post multiple images as galleries instead.

WordPress galleries though, have never been ideal, as options are limited for enlarging images on click, or linking to external files, and the layout is inflexible.

I am aware, of course, that there are myriad plugins to present pretty galleries of images within your blog post but, as someone who likes to keep a WordPress site as lean and efficient as possible, unnecessary plugins are not, for me at least, the answer.

It was while trying to add a WordPress gallery and then changing my mind, that I discovered a nifty trick for adding multiple images and presenting them in classic Gutenberg image boxes image blocks, without having to do them one at a time.

So how did I do it?

At the point in your blog post where you would like the images to start, choose the Gallery style of block and proceed to add images. You will be taken to the WordPress media library to select the images you would like your gallery. Choose the images accordingly and complete the process so that WordPress inserts a gallery at that point in your post.

Having created a gallery block, change the block type back to image.
Click at the top left of the Gallery block to change the Gutenberg block type

Then in the top left of that you can block change the style of the block from a Gallery to Image and, hey presto, the gallery unfolds and you are presented instead with a list of Gutenberg image blocks which previously would have taken you a while to add individually.

Multiple Gutenberg image blocks
The Gallery block is converted into multiple individual image blocks, saving a lot of time.

You’re welcome.

30 comments

  • Thank you so much! This saved me sooo much time!!

  • Oh man, I could kiss you! Thank you so much for this.

    I’m a neophyte WP user and I’m slowly building up my bag of tricks.

    Thanks again!

  • Thank you so much. Once I had mastered this, I found the old “reverse the order of the images” option appears to be missing. Instead of bulk selecting all the images I needed, I ended up ctrl-selecting in reverse order. Still a huge improvement over individually adding images!

  • //--MSC

    SOLVED! Many thanks, indeed. I’ve been browsing through plug-ins which would help me to add a dozens of pics at once, apparently there’s a way around, if Gutenberg editor is used.

  • You absolute star! Thank you :-0

  • Thanks so much for this time saving tip! Gutenbergโ€™s UI has been a challenge for me (I post a lot of images) and I have been switching back and forth between it and the classic editor.

  • Humphry

    Thank you very much, you saved my life.

  • Awesome tip, thank you!

  • Omg thank you for this!! Found you from google and you have just saved me a lot of time ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Wow!
    Like others, I was getting frustrated with ONE. IMAGE. AT. A. TIME.
    Your trick saved me many hours of work as well.

    Thank you for sharing!!!

  • This has saved me so much time, thanks! Madness that this isn’t a more obvious or well-publicised feature.

  • Thank you so much!!

  • THANK YOU! This has been driving me crazy. Also, beautiful horse photos <3

  • wow.. how simple and easy! Thanks!

  • Thank you for this – you’re a star!

  • Thank you SO MUCH!!!!

  • Thank you so much for this helpful tutorial! I’m still getting used to Gutenberg, and while I overall like it, there are definitely some areas that need to be improved.

    I was getting so frustrated with how much longer it takes to upload each individual photo! So glad to have found your article which will help me be more productive!

  • Thank you so much!!! I’ve really be struggling to enjoy posting with the new interface that wordpress has upgraded to. But this tip is a huge help. It was not uncommon for me to make posts with 20-30 images and it was just taking forever until now. Thank you thank you!!!

    • A

      I’m glad it was useful. It’s particularly useful for posts with lots of images.

  • You! You wonderful human you! Thank you so much, this has been annoying me for ages! Yay! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Thank you for sharing this invaluable tip! You’ve saved me hours and I’ve now stopped pulling my hair out! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • I knew you could convert galleries to images so god knows why this hack didn’t occur to me for multiples – you’ve just saved me literally days of image uploading. Thank you!

  • dude, awesome trick, just what I needed for a couple of my photo-heavy sites. THANKS!

  • Brilliant! Thanks so much!

  • Yes! That’s the trick I needed too! Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

  • Thanks for sharing this amazing trick!

    I’ve also been very annoyed by the Gutenberg limitation on inserting multiple images. This method totally works and saves me so much time that I feel the need to leave this comment to thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

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