WordPress · photography

Free widgets for a photography site on WordPress

On a photography site every pixel of attention belongs to the photos, so anything added has to be small and quiet. Country flags and a visitor count give a gallery the sense of audience it otherwise lacks, and they do it in one line of text rather than a panel.

What you are trying to do here is show reach without putting anything in front of the images. Three widgets below do that; the other 15 in the set mostly do not, so they are not on this page. No plugin. WordPress accepts raw HTML in a Custom HTML block, which is all this needs.

The three worth adding

  1. 01

    flag counter

    On WordPress this goes in a footer widget area — a ranked country list belongs at the bottom, where its lazy-loaded flags stay below the fold.

  2. 02

    free hit counter

    On WordPress this goes in a footer widget area — an all-time total is a footer artefact — nobody scrolls up to check it.

  3. 03

    online users counter

    On WordPress this goes in the post or page itself — a live count only changes behaviour when it sits in the same line of sight as the price or the button.

Where to put them

Footer only, at small size. Do not put a widget in a gallery grid or a lightbox — it breaks the one thing visitors came for.

Questions people ask

Which widget should a photography site on WordPress add first?

flag counter — On a photography site every pixel of attention belongs to the photos, so anything added has to be small and quiet. Country flags and a visitor count give a gallery the sense of audience it otherwise lacks, and they do it in one line of text rather than a panel.

Where do the widgets go on a photography site?

Footer only, at small size. Do not put a widget in a gallery grid or a lightbox — it breaks the one thing visitors came for.

Do I need a plugin for this on WordPress?

No plugin. WordPress accepts raw HTML in a Custom HTML block, which is all this needs.

Other site types on WordPress