How to Build Your Own Imagely
Replace Imagely with a custom build. The WordPress Photography People
Build Difficulty: 4/5
A few focused days to build a solid replacement
Estimated Timeline
Based on 65 features at Few Days difficulty, expect about 3-5 days with AI-assisted development.
Recommended Tech Stack
Full-stack React framework with API routes and server components
PostgreSQL database, auth, and real-time subscriptions
Utility-first styling for rapid UI development
Key Features to Replicate
Top features across 8 categories. See all 65 features
Gallery Layouts(12 features)
Display images in single vertical column encouraging visitors to scroll and engage naturally
Cinematic gallery with elegant frames around each image in structured grid for refined, timeless feel
Sleek, scrolling carousel format styled like a filmstrip ideal for storytelling and showcasing collections
Display multiple galleries and sub-albums in clean organized grid layout for easy browsing
Showcase large images one at a time with smooth navigation perfect for highlighting details
+7 more in this category
eCommerce(7 features)
Automatically calculate accurate sales tax worldwide with TaxJar integration
Automatically sell, print, and ship photographs directly to customers with no markup or fees through White House Custom Colour partnership
Create flexible coupon options with conditions and promotions to offer exclusive discounts to customers
Offer digital downloads of images, either free or paid, with full control over pricing and sizes
Built-in eCommerce system to sell images directly from WordPress with support for custom pricing, price lists, and coupons
+2 more in this category
Gallery Management(6 features)
Effortlessly organize galleries into albums with custom cover photos and breadcrumbs for easy navigation
Create smart, auto-generated galleries by pulling in tagged images from across the site with exclusion options
Choose from 20+ beautiful gallery display layouts including Mosaic, Masonry, Tiled, Thumbnail, Filmstrip, Film, Sidescroll, Slideshow, Blog Style, ImageBrowser, and more
Drag & drop sorting and default settings to apply settings everywhere
Add keywords to images for easy sorting, filtering, and organizing galleries and albums
+1 more in this category
Security(6 features)
Automatically save a local copy of images for easy recovery anytime without data loss
Protect images from unauthorized downloads by disabling right-click and drag to save functionality
Preserve full-size, uncompressed versions of images for future use and recovery
Keep albums and galleries private requiring password access perfect for private events and photo sessions
Control who can access and manage galleries with granular permissions for each WordPress user role
+1 more in this category
Performance(5 features)
Integrate with popular compression plugins like Imagify and Optimole to automatically optimize image sizes
NEW: Content Delivery Network for faster image loading and delivery
Load images only when visible on screen reducing initial load time and keeping galleries smooth and fast
Split large galleries into multiple pages loading only current page images for faster browsing
Automatically resize images upon upload for faster load times while safely backing up original high-quality versions
SEO(5 features)
Effortlessly add descriptive alt tags and captions to enhance accessibility and boost SEO
Guide users through galleries and albums with breadcrumbs improving navigation and SEO
Link directly to any image making it easier for visitors to share content and improving search indexing
Preserve crucial image metadata for improved search visibility and better SEO performance
Includes breadcrumbs, deep linking, alt tags, captions, metadata preservation, and Open Graph/X Cards for search visibility
Theme Design(5 features)
Take full control of site navigation with drag-and-drop WordPress menu builder including hover effects
Complete WordPress theme with 96+ photography templates designed specifically for photographers
Design site using WordPress block editor or favorite page builder for easy drag-and-drop customization
Customize site typography with hundreds of Google Fonts with full control and no coding required
Personalize photography theme, then save, export, share, and even sell custom designs
Gallery Display(4 features)
Fully customizable fullscreen lightbox with social sharing, deep linking, image comments, and autoplay slideshows
Enhance galleries with interactive hover effects including social sharing, titles, descriptions with fade and slide-up options
Premium lightbox with advanced customization options and features
Allow visitors to browse extremely high resolution versions of images
Cost Calculator
Pricing data not available for Imagely. Check their website for current pricing.