In the dynamic world of WordPress, arranging two images side by side isn't just about aesthetics; it's a powerful way to enhance your message and engage your audience. This layout can make comparisons clearer, showcase before-and-after scenarios, or simply break the monotony of text-heavy pages. Luckily, WordPress Gutenberg users have multiple methods at their disposal to achieve this visually appealing configuration. Whether it's the simplicity and flexibility of the Block Editor, the dynamic features of the Gallery block, or the precise control offered by Custom CSS, each approach has its unique advantages. In this guide, we'll walk through these methods, ensuring that even beginners can confidently create compelling, side-by-side image displays in their WordPress content.
Step-by-Step Guide on Inserting Two Images Side-by-Side in WordPress
Method 1: Utilising the WordPress Columns Block Editor
To put images side by side in WordPress using the WordPress Block Editor, you can follow these steps:
Add a Columns Block: In your WordPress post or page, open the Block Editor. Look for the "+" sign to add a new block and select "Columns." This lets you create a layout with multiple columns. For two images side by side, select the two-column layout.
Insert Images: You can add an image in each column of the Columns block. Click the "+" sign inside each column and choose the Image block. Then, upload your images or choose from the media library.
Adjust Column Widths: After adding your images, you can adjust the width of each column. This is done by clicking on the edge of a column and dragging it to the desired width. This allows you to control how much space each image occupies.
Align Images Within Columns: For each image in the columns, you can choose alignment options (left, centre, or right) to ensure they are positioned as you like within the column.
Customise and Publish: Once your images are in place and aligned as you wish, you can further customise the appearance by adjusting image sizes, cropping, and linking them to different pages if needed. When you are satisfied with the layout, remember to publish or update your post to save the changes.
This method is quite straightforward and does not require any additional plugins or complex coding. It's an effective way to present images side by side, enhancing the visual appeal of your WordPress content.
Method 2: Leveraging the Gallery Block
To leverage the Gallery block in WordPress for a more dynamic image display, you can follow these steps:
Create a Post or Page: Open the WordPress content editor for a new or existing post or page.
Insert the Gallery Block: Click the "+" icon to add a new block, and search for the "Gallery" block in the Common Blocks section, or use the search function to find it quickly.
Add Images to the Gallery Block: You can drag and drop images directly into the Gallery block or use the "Upload" button. If you want to use images from your WordPress media library, click the "Media Library" button and choose your preferred images.
Configure the Gallery Layout: WordPress automatically places images side by side. You can change the layout by adjusting the number of columns in the Gallery block settings on the right-hand side of the screen. This allows you to set whether you want two, three, or four images in each row.
Customisation Options: You have the option to customise your gallery further by adding titles and alt text to each image for better SEO and accessibility. You can also adjust the gallery margins and configure lightbox settings for an interactive display.
Publishing the Gallery: Once your gallery is set up, click the "Publish" button to make your gallery live on your site.
These steps help you create a visually appealing and functional image display on your WordPress site. The Gallery block is a user-friendly tool that requires no coding, making it ideal for beginners. Additionally, the ability to customise the gallery with titles, alt text, and lightbox features enhances the overall user experience.
Method 3: Employing Custom CSS Styling
For advanced users looking to precisely position images side by side in WordPress using custom CSS, there are a few methods you can employ. Here's a general overview, along with some sample CSS code for customisation:
Understanding Custom CSS in WordPress
Before diving into the specifics, it's important to know that WordPress allows you to add custom CSS to alter your site's layout and design. This can be done through the theme's Customizer or by using CSS plugins. Some popular CSS plugins include Jetpack's Custom CSS Editor, CSS Hero, and Simple Custom CSS and JS.
In-Line CSS
One approach is to insert CSS directly into the HTML code of your images. This is done in the "Text" tab of your WordPress editor, where you can add CSS styles directly to the image tag. For example, you can use float: left; margin-right: 5px; to align the image to the left and add a margin to its right. This will allow you to control the spacing between images precisely.
Using Divs with CSS
Another method is to wrap each image in a <div> tag and then style these divs in your stylesheet. You can create a unique class for these divs (e.g., class="side-by-side"), and then in your CSS file, you can define the style for this class, such as float: left; margin-right: 5px;. This gives you control over the layout and spacing of the images, but requires editing the stylesheet directly.
Sample CSS for Image Styling
Here's an example of how you might style images using CSS:
This code would align the image to the right, add a background colour, border, margin, and padding. You can adjust these values to fit your specific design needs.
Remember, when applying custom CSS, it's important to test your changes across different devices and browsers to ensure consistency. Also, creating a child theme is recommended if you plan to make significant changes to your site's stylesheet, as this will prevent your customisations from being overwritten during theme updates.
Advantages of Displaying Two Images Side by Side
Displaying two images side by side in your web content can significantly enhance both the aesthetic appeal and the clarity of your message. This layout technique allows for a more engaging and well-organised user experience, especially when combining descriptive text with images.
One of the primary advantages of placing images side by side is the ability to compare and contrast. This is particularly effective in contexts like product comparisons, where you can show different features or different products next to each other for direct comparison. This visual juxtaposition helps viewers quickly grasp the differences and similarities, leading to a better understanding of the content.
In tutorials or step-by-step guides, side-by-side images can be instrumental. They allow you to visually represent different stages of a process or different aspects of a subject matter. For example, in a cooking tutorial, showing ingredients and the final dish side by side can provide a clear and immediate reference for the readers, enhancing their learning experience.
Using advanced CSS techniques like Flexbox or CSS Grid, you can create more dynamic and responsive layouts for your images and text. Flexbox simplifies complex layouts by efficiently aligning and distributing space between elements, while CSS Grid offers a two-dimensional grid system for creating precise control over rows and columns. These methods provide the flexibility to adapt your design to various screen sizes and devices, ensuring a consistent and accessible user experience.
Moreover, employing these layout techniques ensures your content is accessible and user-friendly for all visitors, including those with disabilities. It's essential to use semantic HTML elements, provide alt text for images, and maintain good colour contrast between text and background for readability.
Incorporating Responsive Design
Tips on ensuring that the side-by-side images are responsive and display well on all devices.
Explanation of common responsive design practices in WordPress.
Incorporating responsive design for side-by-side images in WordPress is essential to ensure that your website displays well across various devices, from desktops to smartphones. Here are some tips and common practices to make your images responsive:
Using Column Blocks: The easiest way to create side-by-side images that are responsive is by using the all-purpose column block in WordPress. Column blocks create evenly-spaced, mobile-responsive columns that can hold multiple types of content, including images. This method provides a simple and effective way to align images side by side while ensuring they adapt well to different screen sizes.
Responsive Images in WordPress: As of WordPress 4.4, when you upload an image, WordPress automatically creates multiple copies of the image in various sizes. These sizes are then used to serve the image that best fits the user's screen parameters, ensuring efficient bandwidth use and faster load times. The srcset attribute in the image tag allows the browser to select the most appropriate image size based on the viewport width.
Patterns for Side-by-Side Images: Patterns are predefined groups of blocks that can be used for formatted groups of blocks to show images. They can often have a format and appearance that suits your needs and can be obtained from a particular theme or the Pattern directory on WordPress.org.
Row Block for Side-by-Side Images: The row block is another option for placing images side by side. This method is simple and offers flexibility, allowing each cell within a row to hold different types of blocks. It ensures that your images adapt well for different screen sizes and doesn't require any additional plugins.
Gallery Block: The Gallery Block in the Gutenberg Block Editor is ideal for managing multiple images. It automatically adjusts the size and layout of the images to ensure they fit perfectly within the block. You can display two or more images side by side and add captions for each image for better user understanding.
Table Blocks: Although primarily intended for tabular data, Table Blocks can be used creatively for formatting images. This method is particularly useful if you want to pair your images with textual explanations, making it a great choice for bloggers and digital marketers.
Retina Images: Most modern screens require retina-ready images. Plugins like Perfect Images (WP Retina 2x) can be used to generate and display retina images on high-DPI devices. This plugin works seamlessly with WordPress's responsive image support and adds retina images to the src-set.
Accessibility Considerations
Ensuring accessibility for side-by-side images on your website is crucial, especially for users with disabilities. Here are some best practices for making images accessible:
Use of Alternative Text (Alt Text): Alternative text is essential for screen reader users and should accurately describe the content and function of the image. Alt text is added within the <img> tag in HTML. For simple images, provide a short and precise description. For decorative images, use an empty alt attribute (alt="") so that screen readers skip over them. Functional images, like buttons, should have alt text that describes their function. Complex images might require longer descriptions or a separate page linked in the alt text.
Importance of Color Contrast: Ensure that images, especially those with text or icons, have sufficient colour contrast to be easily distinguishable. The recommended colour contrast ratio is at least 4.5:1 for regular-sized text and 3:1 for larger text and icons.
Using Captions for Images: Captions provide additional context and are particularly useful for images that require an explanation, such as portraits or complex diagrams. The <figcaption> element in HTML can be used to associate a caption with an image, making the information accessible to both sighted and non-sighted users.
Responsive Design Considerations: Ensure that your images remain accessible even as the layout changes across different devices. This includes maintaining the alt text and ensuring that images do not lose their meaning or become distorted in different screen sizes.
Testing for Accessibility: Regularly review your images for accessibility compliance. This includes checking the alt text for relevance and brevity, ensuring captions are accurate, and that colour contrasts are sufficient. Automated testing tools and manual reviews can be used for this purpose.
