# What is a UGC gallery? What goes in one, the layouts and where to put it

A UGC gallery is a block on your site that shows customer photos, videos and reviews. What goes in one, where it comes from, the layouts, rights and page speed.

By Rohin Aggarwal · 2026-10-13

A shopper on a product page scrolls past the studio shots. She stops at a block of photos taken by people who bought the thing. One is in a kitchen like hers. That block is a UGC gallery.

**Quick answer**

- **A UGC gallery** is a block on your site that shows content your customers made.
- It holds customer photos and videos, reviews with media, and social posts that mention you.
- Common layouts are a grid, a carousel, stories, reels and a lookbook.
- The product page is where it does the most work. Put it near the buy box.
- Clear rights before you publish, and check what the script adds to page weight.

## A UGC gallery, defined

UGC stands for user-generated content. A UGC gallery is the part of your website that displays it. It is usually an embedded widget. A tool collects and filters the content behind it.

Its job is evidence. Studio photos show the product at its best. Customer photos show it on real people, in real rooms, in real light. Shoppers use them to check fit, size and colour before they buy.

## What goes in a UGC gallery

- **Customer photos and videos.** Uploaded by buyers on your store, often after an order.
- **Reviews with media.** A star rating and a written review, with the photo or video attached.
- **Social posts.** Posts that tag you, use your hashtag or come from your own accounts.

Brand content can sit beside it, but label the difference. A gallery that mixes ads with customer posts loses the trust it was built for.

## Where the content comes from

Idukki pulls social posts from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn and Threads. It imports reviews from Google Reviews, Trustpilot, TripAdvisor and Judge.me. On your store it collects through an upload widget, a review request form and custom reviews.

Each source behaves differently. A hashtag feed fills fast and needs filtering. Reviews come with ratings and dates. Buyer uploads can carry your terms on the upload form.

## How a UGC gallery gets built

**From a source to a live gallery**
1. **Connect a source** — Add an Instagram handle, a hashtag, a review site or an upload form.
2. **Build a collection** — Filter by hashtag, date or mention, or pick posts by hand.
3. **Moderate** — Approve, hold or remove posts before they reach the page.
4. **Pick a layout** — Grid, carousel, stories, reels or lookbook, styled to your brand.
5. **Embed** — Paste one line of code, or add the Shopify theme app block.

Moderation is the step most stores skip. A hashtag feed will pick up off-topic and off-brand posts. In Idukki, a post also needs cleared rights before it reaches a storefront.

Pin your strongest post to the first row, where it loads first.

## UGC gallery layouts

| Layout | What it looks like | Good for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Grid | Rows of square or portrait tiles | A home page block or a UGC page |
| Carousel | One row that scrolls sideways | Product pages short on space |
| Stories | Mobile-first vertical tiles | Mobile visitors who browse quickly |
| Reels | Vertical videos that play in place | Video-heavy brands and product demos |
| Before/after | Two images side by side | Skin care, hair, cleaning, home |
| Lookbook | A spread with product pins | Outfits and rooms with several products |

_Layouts in the Idukki builder, from our product docs. Last updated 13 October 2026._

In Idukki these layouts share one renderer and one moderation queue. You can change the layout without rebuilding the content. Tag products on the posts and the gallery becomes shoppable. Our [shoppable UGC explainer](/blog/what-is-shoppable-ugc) covers that step.

## Where to put a UGC gallery

On a product page, show posts tagged with that product. Place them near the price and add-to-cart button. A shopper deciding on size wants proof at that moment. See what moving it does in [gallery placement and add-to-cart rate](/blog/ugc-gallery-placement-above-the-fold-add-to-cart-impact).

On the home page and collection pages, a gallery shows the range across products. A dedicated UGC page works for inspiration browsing.

Showing customer posts on a screen in a shop or at an event? That is a [social media wall](/blog/what-is-a-social-media-wall).

## Rights: ask before you publish

A public post is not a licence for your store. Ask the creator, keep their answer and note when it ends. In Idukki, each post shows its rights state in the content queue. The default licence runs two years. Revoking a record removes the post from every widget at once.

For the tools that keep these records, read [the best UGC rights management tools](/blog/best-ugc-rights-management-tools-2026).

## What a gallery costs your page speed

Every gallery loads a script before it can draw a tile. Idukki's core download is 79 KB gzipped, measured in October 2026. Ask any vendor for its own number, measured the same way.

Two habits keep layout shift down. Reserve the gallery's space with the right aspect ratio before images arrive. Then lazy-load images and video as the gallery scrolls into view. Test the product page in [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/) with the gallery on and off.

## What separates a good gallery from a wall of photos

- **Relevance.** On a product page, every post shows that product. A random brand feed answers nothing.
- **Variety.** Different bodies, rooms and uses. Ten near-identical flat lays tell the shopper little.
- **Context.** A star rating or a line from the review beside the photo.
- **Accessibility.** Alt text on images and captions on video. See [alt text and captions on UGC](/blog/alt-text-and-captions-on-ugc-accessibility).
- **A next step.** A product tag, so a shopper can act on what they see.

## UGC gallery or review widget?

A review widget leads with stars and text. A gallery leads with photos and video. Many stores run both. Our piece on [UGC galleries vs review widgets](/blog/ugc-galleries-vs-review-widgets) sets out when you need each.

## Choosing a UGC gallery app

Ten questions to ask before you install are in [how to choose a UGC gallery app](/blog/how-to-choose-a-ugc-gallery-app). For a gallery you already run, see [five ways to make your UGC gallery shoppable](/blog/shoppable-gallery-guide). We make Idukki, which builds the galleries described here.

**The takeaway:** Put the gallery by the buy box. Clear the rights first, and weigh the script before you ship.

### Questions about UGC galleries

**Q: What is a UGC gallery?**

A: A block on your site that shows customer photos, videos, reviews and posts about your products.

**Q: What is the difference between a UGC gallery and a social media feed?**

A: A social feed mirrors an account or hashtag. A UGC gallery shows customer content, filtered and cleared for use.

**Q: Where should a UGC gallery go on a product page?**

A: Close to the price and the add-to-cart button, showing posts tagged with that product.

**Q: Do I need permission to show customer photos in a gallery?**

A: Ask the creator and keep a dated record. A public post is not a licence for your store.

**Q: Will a UGC gallery slow down my site?**

A: It adds a script. Idukki's core download is 79 KB gzipped. Reserve space and lazy-load images to limit layout shift.

### Sources
- [Idukki: widgets and layouts](/widgets) — The layouts available in the builder.
- [Idukki: rights management](/rights-management) — Rights states, expiry and revocation.
- [Google PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/) — Test the product page with the gallery on and off.
- [Yotpo: what is a UGC gallery?](https://www.yotpo.com/glossary/what-is-a-ugc-gallery/) — A ranking definition. Read 13 October 2026.

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Canonical: https://idukki.io/blog/what-is-a-ugc-gallery
Tags: ugc-gallery, ugc, definitions, layouts, page-speed, rights