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How to Create a Gallery in Squarespace

Updated September 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

Adding the gallery takes a few minutes. What determines whether it looks good is the preparation before upload and the settings afterwards — consistent crops, properly sized files, a single aspect ratio, and a layout chosen to suit the images rather than the other way round. This covers the steps, the layout choice, speed, alt text, and the structural mistake that leaves image-led sites ranking for nothing.

The short answerSet one aspect ratio across the gallery. It is the fastest way to make inconsistently shot images look intentional, and it fixes more visual problems than any other single setting. And resize files before uploading — galleries multiply page weight by the number of images, and the cost falls hardest on the mobile visitors who are most of your traffic.

Progression Agency is based in New York City and works with clients across the United States. Squarespace’s interface, section types, gallery options and setting names change regularly — follow the current process in the product itself and in Squarespace’s own documentation rather than any third-party description, including this one.

Galleries, in short
Images after the first in a slideshow are seen by a small fraction of visitors, so nothing essential should sit behind a click.

Add a gallery section or block to the page, upload the images, choose the layout, and then set the spacing, aspect ratio and behavior — the last part being where most of the visual quality comes from.

The mechanics take a few minutes. What actually determines whether the gallery looks good is the preparation of the images and the settings applied afterwards, and both are usually rushed.

Creating a gallery, in order
Steps one to three are where the quality comes from, and they are the ones most often skipped in favor of uploading immediately.

What should you do before uploading anything?

Crop consistently, size the files appropriately, name them descriptively, and decide the order — because fixing any of those afterwards is slower.

A gallery of inconsistently cropped images will look untidy in every layout available, and no setting corrects it.

Crop consistently — Before upload. Or mix them deliberately..
Resize for the web — Before upload. Galleries multiply weight..
Name files descriptively — Before upload. 'IMG_4821' says nothing..
Decide the order — Before upload. The first few do the work..
Write alt text — Before upload. Faster now than later..
Check on a phone — Before upload. Where most viewing happens..

Crop to a consistent shape

Mixed portrait and landscape images look deliberate in some layouts and accidental in most. Decide which you want.

Size files for the web before uploading

Large files slow the page, and galleries multiply that cost by the number of images.

Name files descriptively

The filename is one of the signals about what an image shows, and ‘IMG_4821’ says nothing.

Decide the order deliberately

The first few images do most of the work. Reordering later is possible and tedious.

Write alt text as you go

It is faster than retrofitting it later and it is required for accessibility.

Check the images look right on a phone

Most viewing is mobile, and detailed images frequently do not survive the reduction.

Grid for consistent shapes and quantity, slideshow for a small curated set, masonry for mixed shapes, and carousel where horizontal browsing suits the content.

The layout should follow the images rather than the other way round. Mixed-shape images in a strict grid produce awkward cropping, and uniform images in a masonry layout waste its only advantage.

Which layout suits which images?
The top-right entry is the answer for most businesses with a large collection: split it across category pages rather than putting everything in one gallery.
Gallery layouts and what each suits
LayoutBest forWatch out for
GridConsistent shapes, many imagesAwkward crops if shapes vary
MasonryMixed portrait and landscapeCan look busy at volume
SlideshowA small, curated setPeople rarely click through
CarouselHorizontal browsing, product-like setsContent off-screen is content unseen
StackedLarge single images, storytellingLong pages on mobile
Reel or stripContinuous horizontal motionDistracting near reading content
Lightbox on clickDetail viewingOnly if detail matters
Captions visibleWhere context is essentialAdds height; plan for it

The slideshow row is worth taking seriously: images after the first are seen by a small fraction of visitors, so anything essential should not be behind a click.

What settings actually change how it looks?

Aspect ratio, spacing, number of columns, and whether captions and lightbox are enabled — and aspect ratio does the most work.

Setting a single aspect ratio across a gallery is the fastest way to make inconsistently shot images look intentional.

One aspect ratio — Settings. The biggest single improvement..
Spacing — Settings. Tight or generous, consistently..
Column count — Settings. Fewer on mobile..
Lightbox — Settings. Only if detail matters..
Captions — Settings. Where context is essential..
Loading behavior — Settings. Not everything at once..

How do you keep a gallery from slowing the page down?

Fewer, smaller, properly sized images — and being honest about how many the page genuinely needs.

Galleries are the most common cause of a slow page on a portfolio or hospitality site, and the cost falls hardest on mobile visitors.

What makes an image-heavy page slow
Relative contribution, not measured values. The top two are both decisions made before any setting is touched.

Resize before uploading

A platform can serve smaller versions, but starting from an enormous original still costs storage and processing.

Limit the number on one page

Forty images on one page is a slow page regardless of how well each is optimized.

Split large collections

Several galleries on separate pages perform better and are easier to navigate.

Check the loading behavior

Images below the fold should not all load at once.

Test on a phone connection

Not on office broadband, which hides the problem entirely.

Watch what captions and overlays add

They are text and markup on top of the image cost.

What about alt text and accessibility?

Every meaningful image needs alt text describing what it shows; purely decorative images should have empty alt text rather than a description.

The distinction matters: describing decorative images adds noise for screen reader users, and leaving meaningful images undescribed removes information.

Alt text for gallery images
Image typeAlt textWhy
Product photographWhat the product is and showsInformation the image carries
Portfolio workWhat it is and for whomContext, not just a name
Team photographWho is shownIdentification
Venue or interiorWhat the space isHelps someone deciding
Decorative pattern or textureEmpty altNothing to convey
Image containing textThe text it containsOtherwise the text is lost
Before and after pairWhich is which, and what changedThe comparison is the point
Repeated logo or iconEmpty, if described nearbyAvoid repetition

The image-containing-text row is the one most often missed, and it is the most damaging: any information that exists only inside an image is invisible to anybody who cannot see it, and to search engines and answer engines as well.

Do galleries help or hurt search visibility?

They can help when images are named, described and surrounded by relevant text; they hurt when they replace text entirely.

A page that is a gallery and nothing else gives a search engine almost nothing to work with, regardless of how good the photographs are.

What should surround a gallery on the page?

Enough text to explain what is being shown, for whom, and what to do next — because the images cannot do those jobs on their own.

This is the commonest structural mistake on portfolio and venue sites: beautiful images with no text, ranking for nothing.

Say what is shown — Around it. Images cannot explain themselves..
Say who it is for — Around it. Intent clarity..
Say what to do next — Around it. A gallery is not a call to action..
Name places and services — Around it. Where relevant and true..
Add real detail — Around it. What a visitor would ask..
Link onward — Around it. To the service or contact page..

How do you organize a large collection?

By what the visitor is looking for rather than by when you made it — usually by category, service, or project type.

Chronological ordering serves the owner rather than the visitor, and it buries the strongest work as soon as anything newer is added.

How to organize a large image collection
Organizing principleSuitsProblem
By category or serviceMost businessesRequires deciding categories
By projectPortfoliosNeeds a page each to work well
By industry servedB2B and tradesOnly if the work looks different
By locationVenues, property, multi-siteUseful for local search too
ChronologicalAlmost nobodyBuries the best work
By color or aestheticDesign-led brandsRarely how people search
Best work onlyEverybody, in practiceRequires ruthlessness
Everything, unfilteredNobodyVolume is not credibility

The second-to-last row is the honest advice for most businesses: a small selection of the strongest work outperforms a complete archive, because visitors judge on the weakest thing they see rather than the average.

What are the common mistakes?

Uploading full-size originals, mixing crops without meaning to, no alt text, no surrounding content, and showing everything rather than the best.

All five are avoidable in the preparation stage, which is why the preparation matters more than the gallery settings.

Whether people scroll through it, whether the page is fast on a phone, and whether visits to it lead anywhere.

A gallery that is admired and leads nowhere is the same as a well-received failure elsewhere: it needs a next step attached to it.

Fewer columns, larger touch targets, and no reliance on hover — because hover does not exist on a touch screen and anything hidden behind it is simply unavailable.

Captions or overlays that appear on hover are the commonest example: on a phone they either never appear or appear on tap, which competes with the tap that opens the image.

Gallery behavior that breaks on mobile
Desktop behaviorWhat happens on a phoneWhat to do instead
Caption on hoverNever appears, or fights the tapShow captions always, or not at all
Six-column gridImages too small to seeTwo columns, larger
Hover zoomNo hover state existsTap to open, if detail matters
Wide carouselMost items off-screenFewer items, or a grid
Fine detail imagesDetail lost at sizeCrop tighter for mobile
Text baked into imagesUnreadable when reducedReal text on the page
Autoplaying slideshowData cost, and distractingStatic, or user-controlled
Tiny close button on lightboxHard to hit accuratelyLarge touch target

The row about text inside images matters twice over: it is unreadable when reduced, and it is invisible to search engines, screen readers and answer engines regardless of screen size.

Portfolio or venue site that looks good and ranks for nothing?

We work with clients across the United States on websites judged by enquiries rather than compliments — which for image-led sites usually means adding the text the images cannot supply, and speeding up the pages carrying them.

Talk to Progression Agency

On 7.1 galleries are sections; on 7.0 they are blocks. Single images use an Image Block on both, and choosing the wrong one is why people find the interface does not match the tutorial they are reading.

Nearly every confusion in this area traces to that version split, plus a second one: adding one picture and adding a set of them are different tools with different settings.

Which tool for which job
What you want7.17.0
A set of images (squarespace gallery / squarespace image gallery / squarespace picture gallery)Gallery SectionGallery Block / Gallery Page
Adding that set (how to add a gallery in squarespace)Add Section, choose GalleryInsert a gallery block
One image inside text (how to add a picture to squarespace)Image BlockImage Block
Several images at once (how to add images on squarespace / how to add pictures to squarespace)Gallery Section uploader, multi-selectGallery Block uploader
Managing what is uploaded (squarespace images)Section content panelBlock content panel
Older tutorials referencing gallery block squarespace / squarespace gallery block / squarespace gallery blocksNot present — use sectionsCorrect for this version

If a tutorial tells you to insert a gallery block and you cannot find one, you are on 7.1 and the feature moved rather than disappeared. The capability is the same; the place it lives is not.

Video: web and marketing practice

A general library on marketing practice. The gallery material is written out in full above.

Getting found in search

AI, AEO and what is changing

Paid media and lead generation

Websites and design

Choosing and working with an agency

Social, content and brand

By industry and by situation

Frequently asked questions

How to add gallery in squarespace on a 7.1 site?
Add a Gallery Section rather than a Gallery Block. How to add gallery in squarespace changed with 7.1: galleries are now sections added from the page editor’s section menu, and the older block-based approach only survives on 7.0 sites.
How to add an image in squarespace inside existing text?
Use an Image Block and drag it beside the text block. How to add an image in squarespace within a paragraph means dropping the block onto the left or right edge of the text block until the insertion guide appears — dropping it above or below stacks it instead.
How to add images in squarespace in bulk?
Through a gallery section’s upload dialog, which accepts multi-select. How to add images in squarespace one at a time is the slow path; the gallery uploader takes a whole folder at once and preserves file order, which matters if the sequence is deliberate.
How to add pictures on squarespace from a phone?
Through the Squarespace app or the mobile browser editor. How to add pictures on squarespace from mobile works for images and galleries but not for complex layout changes, so treat the app as a content tool rather than a design one.
How to add a picture in squarespace with a caption?
Enable the caption field in the Image Block’s design settings. How to add a picture in squarespace with visible caption text depends on the block layout chosen — some layouts hide captions entirely, which is why people conclude the field does not work.
How to add image on squarespace as a background?
Through the section’s background settings, not an image block. How to add image on squarespace behind text means opening the section editor and setting a background media, which allows an overlay for contrast; an image block placed behind text will not behave that way.
How do you build a Squarespace photo gallery that loads fast?
Resize and compress before uploading, limit how many images sit on one page, and set one aspect ratio. A Squarespace photo gallery is the usual cause of a slow page on image-led sites, and the fix is preparation rather than settings.
How do you create a gallery in Squarespace?
Add a gallery section or block to the page, upload the images, choose the layout, then set aspect ratio, spacing and behavior. The settings stage is where most of the visual quality comes from.
What should I do before uploading?
Crop consistently, resize the files for the web, name them descriptively, decide the order, and write alt text. Fixing any of these afterwards is slower.
Why does consistent cropping matter so much?
Because a gallery of inconsistently cropped images looks untidy in every layout available, and no setting corrects it.
What is the single highest-impact setting?
Aspect ratio. Applying one ratio across a gallery is the fastest way to make inconsistently shot images look intentional.
Which layout should I use?
Grid for consistent shapes and quantity, masonry for mixed shapes, slideshow for a small curated set, and carousel where horizontal browsing suits the content.
Should the layout follow the images or the other way round?
The images. Mixed shapes in a strict grid produce awkward crops, and uniform images in a masonry layout waste its only advantage.
Are slideshows a good idea?
For a small curated set, yes. Be aware that images after the first are seen by a small fraction of visitors, so nothing essential should be behind a click.
Why is my gallery page slow?
Almost always full-size originals uploaded without resizing, too many images on one page, or everything loading at once.
How many images should be on one page?
Fewer than most people put there. Forty images on a page is slow regardless of how well each one is optimized; split large collections across pages.
Where should I test the speed?
On a phone connection rather than office broadband, which hides the problem completely.
Does every gallery image need alt text?
Every meaningful image does. Purely decorative images should have empty alt text rather than a description, because describing them adds noise for screen reader users.
What is the most commonly missed alt text?
Images containing text. Any information that exists only inside an image is invisible to anybody who cannot see it, and to search and answer engines as well.
Do galleries help search visibility?
They can, when images are named, described and surrounded by relevant text. They hurt when they replace text entirely.
What is the commonest structural mistake?
A page that is a gallery and nothing else. It gives a search engine almost nothing to work with, however good the photographs are.
What text should surround a gallery?
Enough to explain what is being shown, who it is for, and what to do next — the three jobs images cannot do on their own.
How should I organize a large collection?
By what the visitor is looking for — category, service, project type or location — rather than chronologically.
Why not organize chronologically?
Because it serves the owner rather than the visitor, and it buries the strongest work as soon as anything newer is added.
Should I show everything I have?
No. Visitors judge on the weakest thing they see rather than the average, so a small selection of the strongest work outperforms a complete archive.
Should captions be visible?
Where context is essential to understanding the image, yes. They add height, so plan the layout around them rather than adding them afterwards.
Should I enable lightbox on click?
Only if detail genuinely matters — product texture, artwork, before-and-after comparisons. Otherwise it adds a step for nothing.
What file sizes should I upload?
Sized for the largest display the image will occupy, compressed for the web. Starting from an enormous original costs storage and processing even when smaller versions are served.
How do I name image files?
Descriptively, saying what the image shows. The filename is one of the signals about an image’s content, and camera default names carry none.
Do captions help search?
They add relevant text near the image, which helps — but they are not a substitute for real content on the page.
Should before-and-after images be a gallery?
They work better as deliberate pairs with alt text saying which is which and what changed, because the comparison is the information.
What about video in a gallery?
Treat it as a heavier image: it costs more to load, and anything essential in it should also exist as text on the page.
How do I know the gallery is working?
Whether people scroll through it, whether the page is fast on a phone, and whether visits to it lead anywhere.
What should follow a gallery?
A next step. A gallery that is admired and leads nowhere needs a call to action attached to it.
Where should I check the current process?
Squarespace’s own documentation and the product itself. Interfaces and setting names change, and third-party descriptions date quickly.

Sources and further reading

  1. Google Search Essentials — SEO starter guide
  2. Google: creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
  3. Google: intro to structured data
  4. Google: LocalBusiness structured data
  5. Google: FAQPage structured data
  6. Google: Article structured data
  7. Google: Product structured data
  8. Google: title links in search results
  9. Google: control your snippets
  10. Google: robots.txt introduction
  11. Google: sitemaps overview
  12. Google: consolidate duplicate URLs
  13. Google: redirects and Search
  14. Google: JavaScript SEO basics
  15. Google: multi-regional and multilingual sites
  16. Google Search Central Blog
  17. Google: get started with Search Console
  18. Google: how local search results are determined
  19. Google Business Profile: prohibited and restricted content
  20. Google Business Profile: address and service area guidelines
  21. Google Business Profile: review policy
  22. Google Business Profile: add or edit categories
  23. Google Ads: location targeting settings
  24. Google Ads: about negative keywords
  25. Google Ads: about Quality Score
  26. Google Ads: importing offline conversions
  27. Google Ads: about Smart Bidding
  28. Google Ads: about Performance Max
  29. Google Local Services Ads: eligibility and screening
  30. Google Ads: keyword match types
  31. Google Analytics 4: about conversions
  32. Google Analytics 4: attribution models
  33. US Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey
  34. US Census Bureau: American Community Survey
  35. US Census: Statistics of US Businesses
  36. Bureau of Labor Statistics: New Jersey data
  37. BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
  38. NJ Department of Labor: labor market information
  39. New Jersey Business Action Center
  40. US Small Business Administration: New Jersey district
  41. USA.gov: business resources
  42. web.dev: Core Web Vitals explained
  43. web.dev: Largest Contentful Paint
  44. web.dev: Cumulative Layout Shift
  45. web.dev: Interaction to Next Paint
  46. Google PageSpeed Insights
  47. Google Rich Results Test
  48. Google Search Console
  49. W3C Markup Validation Service
  50. Schema.org: LocalBusiness type
  51. Schema.org: Service type
  52. Schema.org: FAQPage type
  53. Schema.org: HowTo type
  54. W3C: WCAG 2.2 quick reference
  55. FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide
  56. FCC: telemarketing and robocall rules (TCPA)
  57. FTC endorsement guides — reviews and testimonials
  58. FTC: rule on consumer reviews and testimonials
  59. HHS: HIPAA guidance on online tracking technologies
  60. New Jersey Courts: attorney advertising guidelines
  61. New Jersey DCA: construction codes and permits
  62. New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor registration
  63. New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
  64. TikTok for Business
  65. TikTok Creative Center
  66. TikTok Ads Help Center
  67. TikTok Community Guidelines
  68. TikTok Terms of Service
  69. TikTok Privacy Policy
  70. TikTok Safety Center
  71. TikTok Transparency Center
  72. TikTok Creator Portal
  73. TikTok Newsroom
  74. TikTok for Developers
  75. TikTok advertising solutions
  76. TikTok Creator Marketplace
  77. TikTok Business Center
  78. TikTok for Business blog
  79. TikTok Creative Center: top ads
  80. TikTok Branded Content policy
  81. TikTok Shop for sellers
  82. Instagram for Business
  83. Instagram for Creators
  84. Instagram Help Center
  85. About Instagram
  86. Meta Business Suite
  87. Meta Business Help Center
  88. Meta Transparency Center
  89. About Meta
  90. Meta: Instagram platform docs
  91. YouTube Creators
  92. YouTube Official Blog
  93. YouTube Shorts help
  94. How YouTube Works
  95. YouTube Studio
  96. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
  97. LinkedIn Help
  98. Pinterest Business
  99. Pinterest Business Help
  100. Snapchat for Business
  101. X for Business
  102. Reddit communities
  103. Reddit for Business Help
  104. ASCAP
  105. BMI
  106. SESAC
  107. Global Music Rights
  108. PRS for Music (UK)
  109. PPL (UK)
  110. SOCAN (Canada)
  111. APRA AMCOS (Australia)
  112. GEMA (Germany)
  113. SACEM (France)
  114. SIAE (Italy)
  115. JASRAC (Japan)
  116. IFPI
  117. RIAA
  118. National Music Publishers Association
  119. Harry Fox Agency
  120. SoundExchange
  121. Music Reports
  122. Epidemic Sound
  123. Artlist
  124. Soundstripe
  125. PremiumBeat
  126. AudioJungle
  127. Free Music Archive
  128. Creative Commons
  129. Incompetech
  130. FTC: advertising and marketing
  131. FTC: disclosures 101
  132. FTC: endorsement guides
  133. FTC: consumer reviews rule
  134. FTC: advertising FAQs
  135. US Copyright Office
  136. US Copyright Office: DMCA
  137. US Copyright Office: music FAQ
  138. US Copyright Office: fair use FAQ
  139. USPTO: trademarks
  140. UK Advertising Standards Authority
  141. ACCC (Australia)
  142. Competition Bureau Canada
  143. GDPR overview
  144. California Consumer Privacy Act
  145. COPPA
  146. FTC: children’s privacy
  147. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
  148. W3C: WCAG
  149. W3C: captions
  150. W3C: making audio and video accessible
  151. ADA.gov
  152. WebAIM
  153. Epilepsy Foundation
  154. Pew Research: internet and technology
  155. DataReportal
  156. US Census Bureau
  157. US Bureau of Labor Statistics
  158. Interactive Advertising Bureau
  159. Think with Google
  160. Google Trends
  161. Nielsen insights
  162. Schema.org: VideoObject
  163. Schema.org: SocialMediaPosting
  164. Schema.org: MusicRecording
  165. Schema.org: HowTo
  166. Schema.org: FAQPage
  167. Schema.org: Organization
  168. Google: video best practices
  169. Google: video structured data
  170. CapCut
  171. Adobe Premiere Rush
  172. DaVinci Resolve
  173. Canva
  174. Descript
  175. VEED
  176. Kapwing
  177. Otter.ai
  178. Later
  179. Buffer
  180. Hootsuite
  181. Sprout Social
  182. Google Analytics
  183. Google Search Console
  184. Google Analytics developer docs
  185. GA4: events and conversions
  186. Matomo
  187. Plausible Analytics
  188. Similarweb
  189. UK Information Commissioner’s Office
  190. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
  191. Australian OAIC
  192. European Data Protection Board
  193. EU data protection
  194. EU Digital Services Act
  195. Ofcom
  196. FCC
  197. AIGA
  198. Nielsen Norman Group
  199. Smashing Magazine
  200. web.dev
  201. MDN: web media
  202. MDN: the video element
  203. ISO 21001 (reference)
  204. Buma/Stemra (Netherlands)
  205. STIM (Sweden)
  206. Teosto (Finland)
  207. Koda (Denmark)
  208. TONO (Norway)
  209. IMRO (Ireland)
  210. SGAE (Spain)
  211. ZAiKS (Poland)
  212. KOMCA (South Korea)
  213. MCSC (China)
  214. CISAC
  215. World Intellectual Property Organization
  216. TikTok: creating videos
  217. TikTok: exploring videos
  218. TikTok: privacy settings
  219. TikTok: growing your audience
  220. TikTok Creator Academy
  221. TikTok Effect House
  222. TikTok for small business
  223. Instagram: Reels help
  224. YouTube: Shorts best practice
  225. How YouTube recommends
  226. Pinterest Predicts
  227. Snapchat for Business
  228. Hootsuite blog
  229. Social Media Examiner
  230. Marketing Week
  231. Adweek
  232. MDN — the img element and alt text
  233. web.dev — lazy loading images
  234. W3C — alt text decision tree
  235. web.dev — responsive images

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