> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nk-crew/visual-portfolio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Modern gallery and portfolio plugin with advanced layouts editor for WordPress. Clean gallery styles with powerful settings in the Gutenberg block.

## What is Visual Portfolio?

Visual Portfolio is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to help creatives, agencies, and photographers showcase their work through beautiful galleries and portfolio layouts. Whether you're building a simple photo gallery or a complex portfolio site, Visual Portfolio provides the tools you need.

## Key Features

### Visual Gallery Builder

Build portfolios and galleries with no coding knowledge required. The Gutenberg block editor provides a convenient visual interface with support for various layouts:

* **Masonry** - Pinterest-style cascading grid
* **Justified** - Flickr-style justified rows
* **Tiles** - Custom tile patterns
* **Grid** - Traditional grid layout
* **Slider** - Fade, Carousel, and Coverflow styles

### Performance Optimized

Despite rich functionality, Visual Portfolio is optimized to be fast and lightweight:

* **Modular Loading** - Scripts and styles load only when needed
* **Lazy Loading** - Images load progressively on demand
* **Smart Adaptive Sizes** - Responsive images for all screen sizes
* **WebP Compatible** - Works with image optimization plugins

### Portfolio Post Type

Optional custom post type `portfolio` to keep all your portfolio items organized:

```php theme={null}
// Portfolio items are stored as 'portfolio' post type
register_post_type(
    'portfolio',
    array(
        'labels' => array(
            'name' => 'Projects',
            'singular_name' => 'Project',
        ),
        'public' => true,
        'has_archive' => true,
        'supports' => array('title', 'editor', 'thumbnail'),
    )
);
```

<Note>
  If you only need photo galleries, you can disable the portfolio post type in the plugin settings.
</Note>

### Powerful Lightbox

Choose between modern lightbox solutions:

* **PhotoSwipe** - Mobile-optimized, touch-enabled
* **Fancybox** - Feature-rich with social sharing

**Features:**

* Mobile swipe navigation
* GPU-accelerated animations
* Progressive image loading
* Social sharing (Facebook, X, Pinterest)

### Content Sources

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Posts Query" icon="database">
    Display posts, portfolios, and any post types with advanced filtering
  </Card>

  <Card title="Image Galleries" icon="images">
    Create galleries using image sets directly in the block editor
  </Card>

  <Card title="Taxonomies" icon="tags">
    Filter by categories, tags, and custom taxonomies
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom Selection" icon="hand-pointer">
    Manually select specific posts to display
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Video & Audio Support

Work with multimedia within galleries. Supported platforms include:

**Video:** Youtube, Vimeo, IGTV, TikTok, Twitch, Facebook Video, DailyMotion, Wistia, VideoPress, TED, and Self-Hosted

**Audio:** Spotify, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Beatport, and Self-Hosted

### SEO-Friendly

Built with performance and SEO in mind:

* Proper HTML structure and semantic tags
* Sitemap integration for All In One SEO, Rank Math, and Yoast SEO
* Fast page load with lazy loading
* Schema markup support

## Technical Stack

<CodeGroup>
  ```php Backend theme={null}
  // Main plugin class
  class Visual_Portfolio {
      const VERSION = '3.5.2';
      
      public function init() {
          // Load dependencies
          $this->include_dependencies();
          
          // Initialize hooks
          add_action('init', array($this, 'init_hook'));
      }
  }
  ```

  ```javascript Frontend theme={null}
  // Modern ES6+ JavaScript
  import { isotope, swiper, photoswipe } from 'dependencies';

  // Modular architecture
  window.VPData = window.VPData || {};
  ```

  ```scss Styling theme={null}
  // Component-based SCSS
  @import 'variables';

  .vp-portfolio {
      // Clean, semantic styles
      // CSS Variables for customization
  }
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Requirements

<Warning>
  Ensure your server meets these minimum requirements before installation.
</Warning>

| Requirement   | Minimum Version |
| ------------- | --------------- |
| **WordPress** | 6.2 or higher   |
| **PHP**       | 7.2 or higher   |
| **MySQL**     | 5.6 or higher   |

**Tested up to:** WordPress 6.9

## Browser Support

Visual Portfolio works in all modern browsers:

* Chrome (latest)
* Firefox (latest)
* Safari (latest)
* Edge (latest)
* Mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Chrome Mobile)

## Architecture

The plugin uses a modular architecture:

```
visual-portfolio/
├── class-visual-portfolio.php   # Main plugin file
├── classes/                      # Core classes (25+)
│   ├── class-assets.php         # Asset management
│   ├── class-gutenberg.php      # Block editor integration
│   ├── class-templates.php      # Template system
│   └── ...
├── gutenberg/                    # React components
│   ├── block/                   # Main gallery block
│   ├── components/              # Reusable UI components
│   └── store/                   # State management
├── templates/                    # PHP templates
│   ├── items-list/              # Layout templates
│   └── items-list-item/         # Item templates
└── assets/                       # Source files
    ├── js/                      # JavaScript modules
    └── css/                     # SCSS stylesheets
```

## Developer-Friendly

Visual Portfolio provides extensive customization options for developers:

* **PHP Filters & Actions** - Customize every aspect
* **Template Override System** - Override templates in your theme
* **Custom CSS Variables** - Easy styling without touching plugin files
* **REST API** - Custom endpoints for AJAX functionality

```php theme={null}
// Example: Filter gallery items
add_filter('vpf_extend_query_args', function($args) {
    // Customize query arguments
    return $args;
});

// Example: Add custom skin settings
add_filter('vpf_items_style_builtin_controls', function($controls) {
    // Add your custom controls
    return $controls;
});
```

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Installation" icon="download" href="/installation">
    Learn how to install Visual Portfolio on your WordPress site
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quick Start" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Create your first gallery in minutes
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Community & Support

* [Documentation](https://www.visualportfolio.com/docs/getting-started/) - Comprehensive guides
* [GitHub](https://github.com/nk-crew/visual-portfolio) - Source code and issues
* [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/visual-portfolio/) - Plugin directory
* [Support Forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/visual-portfolio/) - Community support

<Note>
  Visual Portfolio is actively maintained with regular updates for WordPress compatibility and new features.
</Note>