Plugin
Updated
Essential Grid
Essential Grid by ThemePunch is a WordPress plugin for building grid layouts and galleries. It lets you arrange portfolios, photo and video galleries, blog posts and other content in responsive grids using a drag and drop builder, with no coding required.
- Version
- 3.2.4
- Released
- Oct 14, 2026
- Developer
- ThemePunch
- Type
- WordPress plugin
- Licence
- GPL
- Included in
- Every plan, or $4.79 a year on its own
What’s new in Essential Grid 3.2.4
Version 3.2.4 · Oct 14, 2026
Latest
- SecurityThe admin escapes stored names and settings in its inline scripts, and the grid editor inserts them as text, so a stored value can no longer break the editor or be read as markup
- SecurityThe front-end search script escapes its settings
- Security'essgrid_getPostTypesWithCatsForClient' and 'essgrid_setCategoryByPostTypes' filters: category titles are plain text ("Food & Drink", no longer "Food & Drink")
- FixedGrid editor: switching the source from Posts to Custom Grid and back reset the first filter group's selection and dropped added filters, so the next save lost them
- FixedGrid editor: switching the source from Custom Grid to Posts and back removed every custom item and the first filter group's filters
- FixedGrid editor: changing the post types, or switching the source and back, reset the categories to the ones the grid was opened with; Clear now empties the categories of every post type
- FixedGrid editor: category names with special characters such as "&" showed HTML-encoded ("&") in the categories list
- FixedGrid editor: the preview showed its missing-categories note for grids it does not apply to, such as a Custom Grid switched to Posts
What it does
Presenting a lot of visual content in a tidy, consistent way is hard to do by hand, especially when you want it to look right on phones as well as desktops. This plugin gives you a visual builder for grids, so you can lay out photos, videos, audio or posts without writing code. You start from one of more than 50 customizable templates or build from scratch, then pick an even, masonry or cobble layout and adjust the look with the skin editor.
Content can come from your own WordPress site or be pulled automatically from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Vimeo. That suits photographers, artists and agencies who already publish elsewhere and want their work collected in one place. Watermarking and right-click protection help guard images, and deep linking and pagination keep large galleries organized. Grids, skins and metadata can be exported and imported between themes or WordPress installations when you move or back up a site.
Best for
- Photographers and artists displaying portfolios
- Creative agencies presenting client work
- Blogs and media sites with video or social feeds
Features
Drag and drop builder
Arrange grid items visually by dragging and dropping them into place, so you can build galleries and content grids without touching any code.
More than 50 templates
Start from over 50 plug and play templates that you can customize, giving you a ready layout to adapt instead of beginning with an empty grid.
Visual skin editor
Create and edit as many skin variations as you need to change how grid items look, so galleries can match your brand styling.
Even, masonry and cobble layouts
Choose between even, masonry and cobble grid layouts, or mix them, to suit uniform thumbnails, varied image sizes or a more irregular arrangement.
Responsive grids
Grids adapt to desktops, tablets and smartphones, so visitors see a properly arranged gallery whatever screen size they are using.
Automatic social content import
Pull content automatically from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Vimeo to fill and refresh galleries without adding each item by hand.
Watermark and right-click protection
Apply watermarks and turn on right-click protection to make it harder for visitors to copy and reuse your photos and other creative work.
Grid export and import
Export or import grids, skins and metadata between themes or WordPress installations, which helps when migrating a site or keeping backups of your layouts.
Essential Grid older versions
- 3.2.3Oct 123 improvements, 15 fixes
- 3.2.2Oct 73 new, 6 improvements, 13 fixes, 13 security fixes
- 3.2.1.3Oct 12 fixes
- 3.2.1.2Sep 28
- 3.2.1.1Sep 27
- 3.2.0Sep 4
- 3.1.12Mar 30
- 3.1.11Mar 28
- 3.1.10Dec 15, 2025
- 3.1.9.4Oct 17, 2025
Members and buyers of this product can download older versions.
25 older versions in all. If you need one that is not listed, ask support.
Questions about Essential Grid
What kinds of content can I put in a grid?
Essential Grid handles photo, video and audio galleries as well as portfolios and blog posts. You can use content from your own site or import it automatically from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Vimeo.
Do I need coding skills to build a gallery?
No. Grids are built with a drag and drop builder, and you can start from more than 50 customizable templates. The visual skin editor lets you change how items look without editing code.
Can I protect my images from being copied?
Yes. The plugin includes watermark and right-click protection features, which make it harder for visitors to save and reuse your photos or other creative work without permission.
Can I move my grids to another WordPress site?
Yes. You can export grids, skins and metadata and import them into another theme or WordPress installation, which is useful for site migrations, staging copies and backups.
Is Essential Grid free?
The code of Essential Grid is licensed under the GPL, so anyone may use, change and share it. GPL Feast is a paid service: a plan or a single purchase gives you the download and automatic updates. The developer's own support, licence key and online services are not included.
Which version of Essential Grid is this?
Version 3.2.4, released Oct 14, 2026. New versions appear here when the developer publishes them, and members get them as automatic updates.
How do I update Essential Grid?
Install the free GPL Feast Updater on your site and connect it with your API key. It installs new versions of Essential Grid automatically and keeps a backup, so you can roll back.
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