Would you like to address common image problems in WordPress?

WordPress provides useful tools for managing and editing images. Users can effortlessly upload, align, and edit images directly within the platform. Despite these features, it may take some time for users to explore the image-editing capabilities.

This article will explore the most prevalent image issues in WordPress and provide solutions for resolving them.

How to Add Images in WordPress

Uploading images to your WordPress posts, pages, and other non-content areas like sidebars is incredibly straightforward.

To add images in WordPress posts and pages, you can easily incorporate the Image block into the content editor.

Inserting an image block in your WordPress content
Alternatively, you can add the Image block by typing /image into a Paragraph block. The editor will display available blocks as soon as you start typing.

Adding an image block
WordPress will then integrate the Image block into the editor.

Click the ‘Upload’ button to choose and upload the image from your computer.

Selecting and uploading an image
You can also opt for a previously uploaded image from your Media Library.

Once the image is uploaded, you’ll see a live preview of it in the content editor.

Image preview
In the right panel, you’ll find image settings where you can provide alt text, choose the image size, and customize the image style.

How to Position an Image to the Left or Right in WordPress

In WordPress, aligning images to the left, right, or center is a simple process. Merely click on the image, and then use the alignment button in the block toolbar.

Alignment options for images
You may have observed that some popular WordPress blogs incorporate images with text wrapped around them.

This is achieved through the alignment feature.

Left-aligned image with text on the right
Alternatively, you can utilize the Media & Text block instead of the Image block.

This block is specifically designed for placing images alongside text.

Media and text block
Upload an image and add text side by side.

You can also use the block toolbar to switch the image or text side.

Image alongside text in WordPress
For more detailed instructions, refer to our guide on aligning images using the WordPress block editor.

How to Include Captions Below Images

In WordPress, adding captions to images is a straightforward process. After uploading an image, you’ll find the option to add a caption directly below the image preview.

Writing a caption for an image in WordPress
Likewise, you can also incorporate captions into image galleries in WordPress. For more detailed instructions, refer to our guide on how to add captions to images in WordPress.

Displaying Photos in Columns and Rows

Frequently, users inquire about presenting photos neatly in columns and rows.

Suppose you wish to share pictures from a birthday party or vacation. Adding them individually to a post may result in a lengthy list of images.

A more organized approach is to create image galleries.

WordPress includes a built-in Gallery block that simplifies the process of adding images in rows and columns with thumbnail previews.

To achieve this, add the Gallery block to the post editor and select the images you want to upload.

How to Craft Responsive Image Galleries in WordPress

Default WordPress image galleries may lack certain features and ease of navigation.

If you frequently upload images and photos to your WordPress site, consider utilizing a WordPress photo gallery plugin.

Our recommendation is Envira Gallery, a tool that allows you to effortlessly create stunning and fully mobile-friendly image galleries on your WordPress site.

Envira Gallery
What sets it apart is its additional functionality, including albums, gallery templates, social sharing, slideshows, watermarking, pagination, password protection, tagging, fullscreen view, and more.

Another notable WordPress photo gallery plugin is NextGEN Gallery, offering various gallery layouts and an attractive lightbox gallery for showcasing images in WordPress.

NextGen Gallery
NextGEN Gallery is equipped with powerful features catering to professional photographers, such as photo proofing, print fulfillment, image protection, Adobe Lightroom addon, PayPal and Stripe payment gateways, and more.

How to Resolve Missing Post Thumbnails / Featured Image

Many WordPress themes offer the option to prominently showcase a featured image alongside your articles. Let’s explore how to set a featured image in WordPress to prevent missing thumbnails.

Setting a featured image for a WordPress post
To begin, click on ‘Set Featured Image’ to upload your post thumbnail.

Once the image is uploaded, you’ll see your post thumbnail displayed in the featured image meta box, as shown below.

How to Incorporate Cover Images in WordPress Posts and Pages

Cover images, characterized by their width or full-width display, serve as impactful separators between different sections of an article or an extensive sales page.

These images enhance user engagement, allowing for easy scanning of a page without feeling overwhelmed by excessive text.

To add a cover image, simply insert the Cover block into the content editor.

Insert the Cover block
Next, upload the desired image from your computer or select one from the Media Library. Alternatively, if you prefer not to use an image, you can choose a color background for the cover.

Tip: Opt for a large image for optimal results.

A live preview of your cover image will appear in the editor. Adjust the cover image display options using the block toolbar or the settings on the right.

Cover image preview
For further insights, refer to our guide on the distinction between cover image vs. featured image in WordPress and how to effectively utilize them.

How to Address the Issue of Featured Images Appearing Twice

Inserting the featured image within content is a common error made by beginners.

Once you set a featured image, there’s no need to insert it into the post along with your content.

Doing so will cause your featured image to appear twice – once as the featured image and once as an image within the post.

Featured image appearing twice
You can certainly add other images within your post, but the featured image belongs in the designated featured image box.

How to Crop Images in WordPress

When uploading images from your phone or camera, they’re often too large.

WordPress automatically generates small, medium, and large image sizes for your original upload. However, sometimes you may need to crop the image to a specific size.

While WordPress isn’t a full-fledged image editor like Photoshop, it does offer basic image editing features such as scaling, cropping, flipping, and rotating images.

Navigate to Media » Add New and upload your image. After uploading, click the ‘Edit’ link next to the uploaded image.

Editing an image in WordPress
Clicking on ‘Edit Image’ below the image preview will open the WordPress image editor.

On the image editor screen, you’ll find buttons for basic tasks like cropping, rotating, resizing, etc.

WordPress image editing features
If you use the Block editor, you can crop images using the built-in crop feature in the image toolbar.

Simply click on an image block and select the ‘Crop’ icon in the toolbar.

Clicking the Crop button in the Image Block Toolbar
Adjust the image’s aspect ratio and the cropped area according to your preference.

You can use the original aspect ratio or choose a predefined one by WordPress.

Selecting an aspect ratio in the Image Block Toolbar

How to Add a Header Image in WordPress

A header image in WordPress is a theme feature found in many free and premium themes.

Some themes allow you to set a site-wide header image, while others permit a header image only for the homepage.

Upload your custom header image from the Appearance » Customize page.

Header options
For Block themes, the process of editing your theme’s header is different.

Go to Appearance » Editor.

Choosing the Full-Site Editor from the WordPress admin panel
Next, select ‘Patterns.’

This will take you to a page where you can access your theme’s header pattern.

Patterns in site editor
Scroll down to the Template Parts section.

Once there, choose ‘Header’ and click on the header template for editing.

Selecting the Header pattern in the WordPress Block Editor
Now, add an image block to the header pattern, similar to the process described earlier in this article.

How to Add a Background Image in WordPress

Like the custom header image, a custom background image is also a WordPress theme feature. Many themes support custom background images.

Visit Appearance » Customize to open the Theme Customizer. If you see the Background Image option, your theme supports custom backgrounds.

Custom background
This feature varies from theme to theme. Depending on your theme, you’ll find different options for styling your background image.

If your theme doesn’t support a background image, you can still use a plugin to add full-screen background images to your site.

How to Find Free Images for Your WordPress Blog Posts

Images can enhance the visual appeal of your articles, but it’s crucial to respect copyright rules and use images legally.

Finding high-quality, royalty-free images for your posts is a common concern among our readers.

Numerous websites offer free images, but those images can appear overused and generic.

How to Tag Images in WordPress

For photography blogs, organizing and sorting photos in WordPress can be challenging since WordPress doesn’t inherently support image sorting.

To address this, consider using plugins that enable image tagging.

For photography blogs, Envira Gallery is an excellent option, equipped with an add-on for adding tags.

Envira Gallery allows you to create attractive, mobile-ready photo galleries in WordPress. Tags enable users to filter and sort photos seamlessly without reloading the page.

How to Import External Images in WordPress

During site migration to WordPress, some images may still point to an old location.

This is particularly common when importing blogs from platforms like Blogger, Squarespace, or WordPress.com.

Although the images may appear correctly, they might still be loading from an external source. To resolve this, install and activate the Auto Upload Images plugin.

Auto Upload Images plugin settings
The plugin checks for external images when you update or save a post or page. You can manually do this for each post or page, or bulk edit all posts and click the update button.

Refer to our guide on how to import external images in WordPress for detailed instructions.

How to Require Featured Images for Posts in WordPress

In multi-author WordPress sites, some authors may overlook the featured image functionality.

To ensure that each post includes a featured image, consider using the PublishPress Checklists plugin.

Once activated, the plugin displays a red exclamation mark and a Checklist tab, indicating that the post requires a featured image.