FAQ
This page collects the questions photographers ask before and after buying. Honest, direct answers — no marketing fluff. Aimed at anyone evaluating whether the plugin fits their workflow, plus existing users with a “wait, does it…?” question.
What you’ll learn
Section titled “What you’ll learn”- How the plugin handles your photos and visitor data
- Whether it works with your theme and page builder
- What happens to galleries and orders if you uninstall
- Whether video and limited downloads are supported
- Real storage-cost expectations vs. competing hosted services
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”None — this page is read-anywhere reference.
Tutorial video
Section titled “Tutorial video”Video coming soon.
Pre-sale and general
Section titled “Pre-sale and general”Do my photos get uploaded to your servers?
Section titled “Do my photos get uploaded to your servers?”No. Photos stay in your Google Drive or Dropbox account. The plugin only fetches thumbnails (cached locally on your WordPress server for performance) and streams originals on demand. No image data is sent to any third-party or plugin-developer server.
Do I need a Google account or a Dropbox account?
Section titled “Do I need a Google account or a Dropbox account?”Yes — at least one. You create a free OAuth app in Google Cloud Console or Dropbox App Console (both free) and paste the credentials into the plugin settings. A step-by-step guide is included for each provider — see Google Drive setup and Dropbox setup.
Can I use both Google Drive and Dropbox at the same time?
Section titled “Can I use both Google Drive and Dropbox at the same time?”Yes. Connect both and choose the storage provider per gallery.
Does it work with any WordPress theme?
Section titled “Does it work with any WordPress theme?”Yes. The gallery is rendered in a self-contained shortcode block and does not depend on theme templates or scripts. The only common gotcha is themes with transparent headers — see the spacer-block trick in Password protection.
What happens if a visitor’s session lasts more than 24 hours?
Section titled “What happens if a visitor’s session lasts more than 24 hours?”Download nonces expire after 24 hours. The visitor needs to reload the page to get a fresh nonce — the gallery itself remains accessible as long as the page session (password cookie) is valid.
Can I import existing Drive or Dropbox folders?
Section titled “Can I import existing Drive or Dropbox folders?”Yes — just paste the folder URL or folder ID when creating a gallery. The plugin reads the folder contents via the cloud API.
Does the print-order shop handle payment processing?
Section titled “Does the print-order shop handle payment processing?”No direct card processing. Orders are sent by email; payment is collected via PayPal.me link, PayPal Standard (email-based) or SEPA bank transfer details that you configure. This keeps the plugin PCI-DSS-free.
Is this plugin GDPR compliant?
Section titled “Is this plugin GDPR compliant?”The plugin stores anonymous visitor identifiers (a hashed cookie ID — no email address, no plain-text IP address) for favourites and optional statistics. All data is stored in your own WordPress database, not transmitted to any third party. A cookie-control switch per gallery lets visitors opt out, and the plugin integrates with WordPress’s standard Tools → Export/Erase Personal Data workflow.
For hesitating buyers
Section titled “For hesitating buyers”How much do storage costs really come to?
Section titled “How much do storage costs really come to?”Cloud storage is dramatically cheaper than dedicated photo-hosting services. Concrete reference points (early 2026):
- Google One: 200 GB for ~3 EUR/month, 2 TB for ~10 EUR/month.
- Dropbox Plus: 2 TB for ~12 EUR/month.
For perspective, 2 TB holds roughly 50,000–80,000 high-quality JPEGs at 25–40 MB each, which is many years of weddings for a single photographer.
Does it work with Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or block themes?
Section titled “Does it work with Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or block themes?”Yes to all. The plugin registers a standard WordPress shortcode ([ccgal_gallery id="42"]) which every page builder can embed via its Shortcode block or widget. Block themes work the same way via the core Shortcode block. Theme styling does not affect gallery internals — the gallery has its own CSS.
Can I limit downloads (e.g. originals off, JPEGs on)?
Section titled “Can I limit downloads (e.g. originals off, JPEGs on)?”The plugin offers a per-gallery disable downloads switch which removes the download buttons entirely. There’s no built-in transcode — you offer whatever resolution you put in the cloud folder. If you want a “preview only” gallery and a separate “downloadable” gallery, the simplest path is two folders (e.g. JPG-web and JPG-full) and two galleries. Some photographers use the print shop instead of downloads, so visitors order prints rather than self-serve digital files.
What happens if I uninstall?
Section titled “What happens if I uninstall?”- Deactivate keeps everything: galleries, settings, OAuth tokens, orders, statistics. Reactivating restores the plugin in its previous state.
- Delete (the explicit “Delete” action in Plugins → Installed Plugins) runs the uninstaller, which removes plugin options, custom tables (orders, favourites, downloads, views), gallery posts, and the thumbnail cache. The original photos in Drive or Dropbox are never touched — your cloud storage stays exactly as it was.
If you want to switch hosts, deactivate, move WordPress, then reactivate — your galleries come along intact.
Is data sent to your servers?
Section titled “Is data sent to your servers?”The plugin author runs no servers that process your data. Direct connections at runtime:
- Your Drive/Dropbox account via OAuth credentials you generated.
- Freemius for license validation, only if you opt in during activation. The free version is fully functional without opting in.
No telemetry, no ad tracking, no usage analytics phoning home. The plugin is fully open-source on the WordPress.org SVN; you can audit the network calls yourself.
Does it support video?
Section titled “Does it support video?”Yes — basic browser-native video. If a folder contains MP4 or WebM, the plugin renders an HTML5 video element in the lightbox, and download/streaming is redirected to a signed cloud URL so your server uses no bandwidth for video playback. Long-form 4K source files or codecs the browser doesn’t natively decode (HEVC on some browsers, ProRes, RAW video) won’t play in-browser; in those cases visitors download instead.
Next step
Section titled “Next step”If you’re ready to install: Installation. If something specific is broken, check Troubleshooting first.