Are you experiencing the image upload problems on your WordPress website? Most beginners find this issue confusing because the image upload errors can occur without making any changes to the website’s settings.
However,among the most usual image problems in WordPress is a failure to upload images. By good luck,fixing this error is quite easy,and anyone can do it.
Now,we will explore how to fix the image upload problem in WordPress without sweating. Also,you will have to learn is what causes this problem and how to avoid it in the future.
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What are the Causes of the Image Upload Error in WordPress?
Usually,the main cause of the image upload problem in WordPress is incorrect file permissions. Your web-hosting server stores your WordPress files,and it requires particular file and directory permissions to function.
Therefore,WordPress cannot read or upload the file on your hosting server if file permissions are wrong. In turn,you can get this error when you upload an image file:
“Unable to create directory WP-content/uploads/date. Is its parent directory writable by the server?“
In addition,the other sign of this problem is a situation where your images are not visible from the media library.
Was Your Website Working Well Before This Issue?
If that’s the situation,then you should know that this could happen because of various reasons.
If you are on a cloud hosting server,then a misconfiguration is enough to alter your permissions without authorization. For example,an upgrade made on your web-hosting server can change your file permissions.
However,you can fix this issue in case everything else is functioning well on your site. To do so,you need to use the right file permissions.
Now,come with me and learn how to fix this problem.
How To Fix Problems With Image Uploading In WordPress
The solution for fixing your image upload issue depends on whether the problem occurs to all images or one image.
Here’s what to do if the problem happens to all the images:
- Disable your plugins,especially those that optimize images.
- Examine if your PHP version is the cause of the problem.
- Increase the WordPress and PHP memory limits of your website.
- Change the file permissions.
- Go to the Media Settings page and delete the file path.
On the other hand,if the problem occurs to one image:
- Decrease the resolution of the image.
- Rename the image.
We will start with solutions for one image,followed by solving issues for all other images:
1. Rename your file
If this issue occurs to one of your images,try to rename the file on your computer before you upload it to your WordPress. Ensure your file names do not have apostrophes,as they tend to make this error occur.
Besides that,ensure you write all your file names using lowercase letters. If this fails to work,try to change the file type. For example,convert a .jpg file to .png file.
2. Optimize your image prior to uploading
The uploading of large images leads to various issues. One of those issues is the image upload problem. Besides that,it can make you reach your website memory limit faster than the expected time.
The best solution is to avoid uploading a normal blog post image that exceeds your content width if it is not a header or featured image. To find out your content width,open any post on your website,and right-click anywhere in it. After that,select Inspect Element.
Click on every arrow to open the code until you spot a class named “content.” Once you spot it,hover your mouse over it. In turn,it highlights the content area of your blog post. This comes alongside your content width in a small pop-up box that is yellowish in color.
3. Delete the File Path from your Media Settings Page
Although this solution is not popular to this issue,it works in some cases. Go to your WP Dashboard>>Settings >> Media. Is there a file path that has a textbox showing where you need to upload the files? Delete the text in that textbox and then save the changes.
What do you do if the Media Settings page says otherwise? If you just see dimensions for images alongside a setting that needs you to organize your files in a month or year folder,this solution will not help.
4. Disable all Your Plugins
Are you optimizing your images using any plugin? If any,try to disable it before you upload your images and check if the issue disappears. Alternatively,disable all your plugins and see if that fixes the solution. If your website has grown and now uses many plugins,then you are about to hit the memory limits – the reason you cannot upload media files.
If disabling your present image optimization plugin worked,get another one to fix the problem. Alternatively,contact the developer of that plugin for solutions.
5. Increase the Memory Limit of your Website
If disabling all your plugins in step 4 worked,then you are near your PHP and WordPress memory limits. In most cases,this happens if you use a shared hosting server because shared servers have memory limits for their users.
In such a case,you need to request your host to increase your memory limit. However,you can do so if you are not a shared server. All you need is an FTP server to access your website,and then edit your files while adding code to them.
6. Change File Permissions
First,you need to use an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to your site. After that,go to /WP-content/folder. Here,you will see the uploads folder. WordPress keeps all your media uploads in this folder.
Next,right-click on the Uploads folder,and then choose File Permissions.
As a result,you will see the file permissions dialog box. Here,you need to change these settings:
- First,set the numeric value to 744.
After that,check the Recurse into sub-directories box. Next,select the “Apply to directories only” choice.
Eventually,to save your changes,click on the “OK” button. In turn,your FTP client starts implementing your file permissions on the directories.
However,if changing the directory permissions to 744 did not fix the issue,try a numeric value of 755.
To apply file permissions to all files,change your numeric value to 644. Next,check the Recurse into subdirectories box,and then click the “Apply to files” button. Finally,click on the “OK” button to save your changes.
7. Change Your PHP Version
WordPress development uses the PHP language. Although WordPress recommends the use of PHP 5.6 version or recent,you can use PHP version 5.2.4 and above.
To fix the image upload problem,you can either upgrade to the recent PHP version or downgrade to the previous version. To do so,go to your cPanel>> Programming,services>>PHP Config.
Note:
You should back up your website before making any changes. If you are a beginner,ask your host whether you can use your PHP version. A single change can break your entire website.
Conclusion
Although this issue is mysterious to most WordPress users,you can easily fix it by following the above steps. If you are unable to fix this issue by yourself,contact your hosting provider for assistance.
Furthermore,you should consider hiring a developer if you are a new WordPress user. Your site might have a specific and uncommon code issue. Fixing this kind of problem is harder,like managing a WordPress website.
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