Troubleshooting
Symptom, cause, fix. Work down the list — the first check is usually the answer.
The gallery doesn't appear at all
It's blank for visitors but fine for me
Two causes, both by design:
- The license isn't active. Front-end output is gated: administrators see a notice, visitors see nothing. Check Shaped Gallery → Settings → License Key. More →
- Visibility is set to Private. Check Advanced Settings → Visibility. Private means only logged-in users who can read private content see anything. More →
An expired licence is not a cause — expired galleries keep rendering.
It's blank for everyone
Work down:
- Is the gallery published, not a draft, and not in the trash? A draft renders only for users who can edit it.
- If it's placed by shortcode, is the id right? Copy it fresh from Saved Galleries.
- Does the gallery actually contain items? An empty gallery renders nothing.
- Are the Hide on device toggles hiding it at the width you're testing? Resize the window and watch.
- Switch on Settings → Advanced Controls → Debug Performance and reload the page as an administrator. It names which gate blanked the gallery — licence, visibility, password, or an empty set. That's the fastest answer there is. More →
It shows in the editor but not on the published page
Almost always a caching or optimisation plugin. Clear its cache, then check in a private window. If it comes back, look for "combine/minify JavaScript" or "defer JavaScript" and exclude the plugin's scripts.
The layout is wrong
Everything is in one column
Check Columns in Layout Settings with the device switcher on the device you're testing. A mobile value of 1 is the default for a reason, but it's also easy to set accidentally on desktop.
Tiles overlap, or the gallery is the wrong height
Justified and Masonry measure the page before positioning tiles. If a script on the page throws an error before they run, or a font loads very late, the measurement can be taken at the wrong moment.
- Check the browser console for JavaScript errors from any plugin on the page. One broken script stops the others.
- Resize the window. If it snaps into place, it was a timing problem — look for a plugin that changes layout after load (sticky headers, ad injectors).
Vertical Gap does nothing in the editor
Make sure you're looking at the front end. If it's wrong on the published page too, check the value isn't set only on one device.
The last justified row doesn't fill the width
That's expected. Justified balances complete rows; the final row usually has fewer images than a full row needs.
The Metro mosaic looks lopsided at the bottom
The pattern repeats in blocks, so an item count that leaves the last block half-finished shows it. Add or remove one image.
Images look wrong
They're blurry
Image & Video Settings → Resolution is too low for the tile size. Move from Thumbnail to Medium, or Medium to Large.
Also check the source images themselves — an upload smaller than the tile can only be upscaled.
They're enormous / the page is slow
Resolution is set to Full, which serves your original upload. Set it to Medium or Large. Performance →
They're cropped
Grid and Metro fit images into fixed boxes, so cropping is inherent. Use Justified or Masonry to preserve proportions.
The watermark isn't showing
Three checks, in order: the Watermark module is on; the gallery's Image Watermark toggle is on; and the image is a Media Library attachment, not an external URL. Then hard-refresh — your browser may be caching the unmarked file. More →
The old watermark is still showing
Your browser is caching the file. Hard-refresh or use a private window. If you replaced the source image file itself without changing a setting, press Purge Watermark Cache in the Watermark module panel.
The lightbox
It doesn't open
- Is the Lightbox module on? Settings → Modules.
- Is the gallery's Click Action Type set to Lightbox?
- Is the layout Thumbnails? The lightbox isn't available there.
- Check the console for a JavaScript error from another plugin.
Only a small badge is clickable
That's Lightbox Click Action → Icon working as intended — with Icon selected the image itself is not a link. Switch to Full Image. More →
A button I want is missing from the toolbar
The toolbar's buttons are individually switchable under Settings → Modules → Lightbox → Lightbox Toolbar. A button that's off is removed from the page entirely.
Filtering and pagination
The filter bar is empty or missing
The gallery has no categories, or none of them has any images assigned. Empty categories are deliberately dropped from the bar.
Also check the layout — Thumbnails and Perspective don't show the panel at all.
Search finds nothing
It matches each item's title, caption and description. If your images have none of those, add text in the Edit Gallery modal.
Note that every word in the query must match — red barn needs both words, not either.
Search doesn't run until I press Enter
That's Search Bar Style → With Button, which searches only on submit. Use Minimal or Boxed for search-as-you-type. More →
Load More does nothing
Check the console for a JavaScript error, and check that a security plugin isn't blocking requests to your site's REST API. Some firewalls block REST for logged-out users by default.
Infinite load never triggers
It fires as the visitor nears the end of the loaded set. In a short gallery inside a tall page, that point can already be past on load. Use plain Load More.
Page builders
The element isn't in my builder
- Switch the integration on in Settings → Integrations and press Save Changes.
- Reload the builder — every builder caches its element list.
The gallery dropdown is empty
Builder elements pick from saved galleries. Create one at Shaped Gallery → Add New Gallery. More →
My gallery isn't in the dropdown
The list is capped at 300. Past that, place it with the shortcode instead.
Settings and the dashboard
Saving one panel reverted another
It shouldn't — each panel saves only its own settings. If you can reproduce it, note which two panels and send it to support.
The Save button is greyed out
That's "nothing to save". It also returns to disabled right after a successful save, and re-enables the moment you change something.
A row vanished from a module panel
Panels hide rows that currently don't apply — the Watermark image rows disappear for a text watermark, and Watermark Position disappears while Repeat is on. The values are kept and come back.
A control disappeared from the block inspector
You switched off the module behind it. Switch it back on and the control returns with your stored value intact.
Custom CSS
There's no CSS box in the plugin
Correct — the plugin deliberately has no raw-CSS field, site-wide or per gallery. Both were removed.
Write your rules in Appearance → Customize → Additional CSS, which loads after every plugin stylesheet and needs no priority reasoning. To target one gallery, give it a class or id under Advanced Settings → Additional CSS Class(es) / Additional CSS ID and use that as your selector.
My CSS doesn't win
Raise specificity with the gallery's own id, e.g. #my-gallery .sp-shaped-gallery__item { … }. Prefer that over !important.
Getting help
If nothing here fits, contact support with:
- The gallery id, and the layout it uses.
- What you expected, and what happened.
- Whether it happens in a private window (rules out caching) and with other plugins deactivated (rules out conflicts).
- Anything in the browser console.
- The Debug Performance output, if you can switch it on.