If you work in WordPress every day, you know the pain of bouncing between tools. We grab a screenshot, open a separate editor, make a few quick tweaks, export, and then upload again. It’s busy work, and it adds up fast.
In this first look, we’re checking out ScreenGlow Image Editor, a WordPress plugin that lets us edit images right inside the WordPress Media Library (and even from image selection modals).
The idea is simple: keep the whole workflow inside the dashboard so we can move faster when we’re creating tutorials, client updates, blog posts, or social images.
Key Takeaways
- ScreenGlow Image Editor is a WordPress plugin that lets you edit and annotate images inside the WordPress Media Library and media selection modals.
- It supports common screenshot tasks, including arrows, text, shapes, number markers, cropping, backgrounds, frames, and basic filters.
- ScreenGlow can save edited images back to the Media Library as a new asset, ready to insert into posts and pages.
- Premium features include presets (to repeat the same look), more frames and patterns, advanced cropping, and user role access controls.
- Best preset workflow: create the look, save the preset inside the editor, then save and upload the image.
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At a Glance
- Works in: Media Library, media modals
- Exports: WebP default, can switch to JPEG or PNG (as stated)
- Best for: screenshots, tutorials, client guides
- Output behavior: saves edited image as a new Media Library asset
How to Get the Best Deal on ScreenGlow
InfluenceWP has an exclusive ScreenGlow deal.
ScreenGlow—First Look Video
In this first look video, we look at the ScreenGlow WordPress plugin together for the very first time, exploring the vendor’s website (product page) from a potential customer’s point of view, highlighting key pages such as the Features, About, Documentation, and Changelog pages.
Next, we look at the actual plugin within the WordPress dashboard, exploring ScreenGlow’s features, settings, etc., so you have an idea of what”s available before you decide to fire up a demo, take the product through a free trial (if available), or simply make a purchase.
ScreenGlow Image Editor Features (WordPress)
From the product page, ScreenGlow is focused on the jobs most of us do every week: quick mockups, resizing, backgrounds, simple effects, and annotations. It’s built for speed, not for deep photo editing.
ScreenGlow’s Core Features
- Create mockups
- Resize images and adjust canvas size
- Add background colors and patterns
- Crop images (including rounded corners and radius-style adjustments)
ScreenGlow’s Premium Features
ScreenGlow’s premium plans add some practical upgrades that agencies and site owners will care about.
- Save presets so we can reuse the same look across multiple images
- More frames and patterns for mockups and screenshot styling
- More advanced cropping options
- Role management, so we can control which WordPress users can use the editor
If you publish a lot of how-to content, documentation, or client guides, presets and annotations alone can justify a serious look.
Installation and license activation
Installation was straightforward. We installed ScreenGlow Premium and activated the license, and there were no extra onboarding steps that required attention. Once it was active, we moved right into settings and the Media Library workflow.
ScreenGlow Settings and WordPress Integrations
ScreenGlow includes a few integration options that control where and how it shows up inside WordPress. In settings, we saw three key ways it connects to the Media Library experience:
- Paste images into the Media Library: This is exactly what it sounds like. We can paste an image directly into WordPress, which is excellent for quick screenshots.
- A ScreenGlow button inside the Media Library: Once enabled, a ScreenGlow button appears in the Media Library. This becomes the fastest way to open the editor and start working with an existing image.
- A ScreenGlow tab in Media Modals: This is the part many plugins miss. When we’re in the block editor (or any place WordPress opens the media selection modal), ScreenGlow appears as a tab. So if we add an Image block and open the Media Library, we can jump into ScreenGlow from there.
After confirming those entry points, we looked at two other settings that matter in real sites:
- User role access (role management): We can limit ScreenGlow to admins only or broaden access if we want editors and authors to handle their own images.
- Default file type: The default was set to WebP, which is a sensible starting point for modern performance and broad compatibility. We can still switch file types per image when needed (like JPEG or PNG), but having WebP as the default can reduce friction for teams trying to keep image weight under control.
Once those were set, the real test was simple: could we open an image, style it, annotate it, save it, then repeat the process quickly?
How to Edit and Annotate Images in ScreenGlow
ScreenGlow’s editor is laid out in a way that’s easy to understand on the first pass: annotation tools on the left and styling and layout controls on the right. We started from the Media Library button, selected an image, and the editor opened with options ready to go.
Getting Into the Editor From WordPress
We entered ScreenGlow in a few different ways:
- From the ScreenGlow button in Media Library
- From the ScreenGlow tab inside an Image block’s media modal
Both methods worked, and the tab option is a nice touch when we’re already building a post or page and don’t want to break our flow.
Annotations (Shapes, Text, Arrows, and Numbers)
On the left side, we found annotation tools that cover most screenshot-markup needs:
- Rectangle tool: Draw a box, then adjust width and color.
- Circle tool: Same idea as rectangles, but for highlighting areas with a circular shape.
- Text tool: Add text overlays, adjust the font and size, and choose from available fonts.
- Arrow tool: Draw arrows and adjust stroke width and color.
- Number markers: Drop numbered steps onto the image, then change the number value.
This is perfect for step-by-step tutorials and client instructions. We can label steps 1, 2, and 3, add arrows, and guide the reader’s eye without touching another app.
We also appreciated how easy it was to remove items. Clearing the canvas didn’t feel fussy, which matters when we’re moving fast.
Canvas, Alignment, Rounded Corners, and Shadows
On the right side, we worked through the layout and styling controls:
- Canvas size: We can fit it to the image or set a custom canvas size.
- Resize and alignment: We can shrink the image to reveal a background, then align it (middle, center, and related options).
- Rounded corners: The border radius was capped at 25 px in our test.
- Shadow: A shadow control that quickly adds depth. It worked well for standard screenshot styling, though more control over position and shadow color would be a nice upgrade.
We also saw options to change the file type during save, which is important if the default doesn’t fit the specific image or use case.
Frames, Links, Backgrounds, Crop, and Filters
ScreenGlow includes mockup-style frames, which can make screenshots feel more like “finished” visuals:
- Frame options included: none, a browser-style frame, Safari, a futuristic option, and a Windows-style frame.
- There’s also a light and dark toggle for frames.
We tested the link field by entering a URL, and once a frame was applied, the link appeared within the frame area. That’s a small detail, but useful for mockups, slides, and client review images.
Background options include solid colors, patterns, and gradients.
- A color picker for solid backgrounds
- Background patterns
- Gradient-style options (we focused mostly on the color picker and patterns)
We also saw image-level tools like:
- Crop
- Filters (contrast, brightness, saturation, temperature)
- A reset option to clear filter changes
After making edits, we saved and uploaded the result back into the Media Library. The edited image appeared as a new asset, ready to insert into content.
Presets: The Fastest Way to Repeat a Look (With One Key Rule)
Presets are one of the best premium features because they turn a multi-step styling process into a couple of clicks. If we publish content consistently, presets help images look consistent too.
There was one important workflow detail we learned while testing: We need to save the preset before we save and upload the final image.
When we tried to save a preset after the fact, it didn’t behave the way we expected. The reliable method was to create the look, save it as a preset inside the editor, and then save the image.
Here’s the workflow that worked cleanly:
- Start with an original image in ScreenGlow.
- Apply styling changes (background color, patterns, corner radius, shadow, size, and alignment).
- Save a preset (example names we used included “preset black” and “light shadow”).
- Save and upload the image.
- Open ScreenGlow again, select the original image, then apply the saved preset from the Presets panel.
When we did that, applying the preset was instant. We recreated the same “light shadow” look on demand: a slightly smaller image on an off-white background, with rounded corners and a soft shadow. That’s exactly the kind of repeatable result that saves time across a content library.
One more practical note: some edits are easier to redo from the original than to revise after saving. We can reopen an image in ScreenGlow and annotate again, but if we want full flexibility, it’s safest to keep the original image as the starting point and then generate styled variants from it.
Why Screenglow Fits Real WordPress Workflows
A lot of WordPress image tools either feel too simple or too heavy. ScreenGlow sits in a practical middle. It covers the tasks we do most often without turning image editing into a separate project.
What stood out in day-to-day terms:
- Staying inside WordPress reduces tool switching, which keeps content work moving.
- Annotations (arrows, numbers, and text) are built for tutorial and support content.
- Frames and backgrounds help screenshots look intentional, even with minimal effort.
- WebP as the default supports performance-minded workflows.
- Role controls let us keep governance in place on multi-user sites.
Who ScreenGlow is For
- Tutorial Writers
- Agencies
- Support Teams
- Site Owners Publishing How-to Posts
Final Thoughts
ScreenGlow Image Editor is a solid option when we need quick mockups, clean screenshot styling, and clear annotations, all without leaving WordPress.
If you publish tutorials, documentation, or client walkthroughs, ScreenGlow can take a repetitive task and make it feel a lot less painful.
Frequently Asked Questions About the ScreenGlow Image Editor WordPress Plugin
What does ScreenGlow do inside WordPress?
ScreenGlow lets us edit images without leaving the WordPress dashboard. We can open images from the Media Library (and from media modals), then add annotations, frames, backgrounds, and basic styling. When we save, the edited image uploads back into the Media Library as a new file.
Where does ScreenGlow show up in WordPress?
ScreenGlow can appear in three main places: a paste option for adding images to the Media Library, a ScreenGlow button inside the Media Library, and a ScreenGlow tab inside media selection modals (like when adding an Image block). These entry points keep image edits close to where we publish content.
What annotation tools does ScreenGlow include?
It includes common screenshot markup tools: rectangles, circles, text, arrows, and number markers. We can adjust things like color and stroke width, then remove items easily if we need to redo a step. This fits tutorial images, support docs, and client instructions.
How do ScreenGlow presets work (and what is the key rule)?
Presets are a premium feature that saves a set of styling choices so we can reuse the same look on other images. The key rule from testing is to save the preset before saving and uploading the final image. The reliable workflow is: apply styling, save the preset in the editor, and then save and upload the image.
What file types can ScreenGlow export, and what is the default?
In the test, the default file type was WebP, which is a good default for performance on modern sites. We can still switch file types per image (like JPEG or PNG) when needed during the save step.