Are you encountering challenges with uploading images on your WordPress website?
Image upload errors can be perplexing, especially for beginners, as they may occur seemingly without any changes made. In reality, the inability to upload images is a prevalent issue in WordPress. Fortunately, resolving this problem is relatively straightforward, and you can address it on your own.
In this guide, we will demonstrate how to rectify the image upload issue in WordPress.
What Triggers the Image Upload Issue in WordPress?
The image upload problem in WordPress is commonly attributed to incorrect file permissions. Your WordPress files are stored on your web hosting server and require specific file and directory permissions for proper functioning.
Incorrect file permissions hinder WordPress from reading or uploading files on the hosting server. You may encounter the following error when attempting to upload an image file in WordPress:
‘Unable to create directory wp-content/uploads/2019/04. Is its parent directory writable by the server?’
Or, you might come across this error:
‘The uploaded file could not be moved to wp-content/uploads/’.
An additional indicator of this issue is the disappearance of images from the WordPress media library.
Images missing in the media library.
My Site Was Functioning Properly Before. Who Altered the File Permissions?
This situation can arise due to various factors. Misconfigurations on your shared hosting server might, at times, result in changes to those permissions without any action on your part.
For instance, your web hosting provider may have conducted an upgrade that unintentionally altered file permissions.
If the rest of your WordPress website is operating correctly, you can rectify the image upload issue by simply applying the correct file permissions.
With that said, let’s explore the process of setting the right file permissions to resolve image upload problems on your WordPress site.
Resolving the Image Upload Issue in WordPress
To modify file permissions, you’ll need to utilize an FTP client.
Firstly, establish a connection to your website through FTP and navigate to the /wp-content/ folder. Inside, locate the uploads folder where WordPress stores all media uploads, including images.
Right-click on the uploads directory and select ‘File Permissions.’
This action will open the file permissions dialog box.
Initially, set file permissions for the uploads directory and all its subdirectories to ‘744.’
Enter 744 into the numeric value box, check ‘Recurse into subdirectories,’ and click on the ‘Apply to directories only’ radio button. Click ‘OK’ to apply these changes. If setting directory permissions to 744 doesn’t resolve the issue, consider trying 755.
In the next step, set file permissions for all files in the uploads directory.
Right-click on the uploads directory, choose file permissions, and change the numeric value to ‘644.’
Check ‘Recurse into subdirectories’ and click on the ‘Apply to files only’ radio button. Click ‘OK’ to apply these changes.
The FTP client will adjust permissions for all files within the uploads folder. Once done, return to your WordPress admin area and attempt to upload images again. Test any file upload forms on your website as well.
Note: If you’re unfamiliar with using an FTP client, you can use the file manager provided by your WordPress hosting company. As screenshots may differ between hosts, contact their support for specific instructions.