Lightboxes: FancyBox, ColorBox and jQueryUI

A JavaScript lightbox is used to display images in a modal dialog, there are many implementations (including the original Lightbox) which use straight JavaScript, a JavaScript library or a combination of the two. As jQuery is already in use in most of my websites I use and recommend the following lightbox plugins.

FancyBox

FancyBox looks great and is very easy to install, recommended for sites that just need a simple lightbox without a customised design.

ColorBox

For my mind the ColorBox design is not as polished as FancyBox, however, it does offer a lot more options for customisation - including the source illustrator file to create your own CSS images.

jQuery UI

jQuery UI does not include a native lightbox widget, however, the dialog widget could be customised to provide all the functionality of FancyBox or ColorBox. This is not an ‘out-of-the-box’ solution but may be a worthwhile option for a site that makes use of other jQuery UI elements such as datepickers or tabs.