Fix image or file upload issues on your WordPress website
Definitions
Upload issues in WordPress are when you can’t upload, display, or manage images and files properly through the media library or editor.
Before you start
✅ Typically, you can solve file and image upload issues by using the correct image format and size.
⚠️ The WordPress media library supports JPEG, PNG, and GIF files by default.
ℹ️ Follow each step by step fix below in order, moving to the next only if the previous one doesn’t work.
Step by step
Check your file size
Verify your file size is permitted by WordPress. Use optimized or compressed images for best results and to maintain good website speed.
1. To confirm the size of your image, find your image file on your computer
2. Right-click on the image file and select Get Info from the dropdown
3. On the Info popup, go to the Size: column
4. If the image is too large, compress it using an app or online tool before uploading it again
⚠️ Note: Some free online compression tools: TinyPNG / TinyJPG, ImageOptim, Compressor.io. Do not upload images containing personal data and always use discretion.
Check your file type
Verify your file type is permitted by WordPress. The WordPress media library supports JPEG, PNG, and GIF files by default.
1. To confirm your file type, find your image file on your computer
2. Right-click on the image file and select Get Info from the dropdown
3. On the Info popup, go to the Kind: column
4. If the image is an incompatible file type, convert it using an app or online tools before uploading it again
⚠️ Note: Some free online conversion tools: Online-Convert.com, Zamzar, Convertio. Do not upload images containing personal data and always use discretion.
5. If you can’t convert your image to a compatible file type, consider using a different image that is already compatible
Update your database upload path
In some cases, your database upload path can block file and image uploads to your WordPress website. To fix this, you need to remove the block from your database upload path.
1. Go to this guide and follow all of the steps: Find your WordPress website database name
2. Make sure to note down your WordPress database name on a secure note
3. From your hosting control panel, click on the phpMyAdmin button
4. When phpMyAdmin opens, your databases will be displayed on the left-hand panel. Find your database (the same one you noted down in the previous step).
5. Click directly on your database name on the left-hand panel, to expand its tables
6. Inside of your tables, find the table with the suffix _options. Keep in mind that the prefix will always be different per database. For example, our database options table is called: wpoy_options
7. Scroll to the bottom and find the Number of Rows dropdown, click it, and select 500
8. Once all of the rows are showing, you need to scroll and find a row called upload_path
9. On the upload_path row, click on ✏️ Edit
10. Go to the option_value section
11. Delete any path you see in the Value field and click the Go button to apply changes, here is an example:
12. Re-attempt your image or file upload
Increase your PHP memory threshold
Sometimes image upload issues are caused by a PHP memory threshold limit.
1. Log in to your hosting control panel
2. Click on the Select PHP version button
3. Look for the memory_limit dropdown
4. On the dropdown, select the highest threshold value available
5. Wait a few moments and then re-attempt your file or image upload
Load your website from an incognito or private window
Sometimes image and files don’t upload or work because of a bad cache. To bypass the cache, try your upload from an incognito or private window.
Here are steps to load an incognito or private window from major browsers. Use these steps from your computer or laptop.
Google chrome:
1. Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner of your browser
2. Select New Incognito Window
3. Re-attempt your image upload
Safari:
1. Click File from the menu at the top of the screen
2. Select New Private Window
3. Re-attempt your image upload
Mozilla Firefox:
1. Click the three-line menu in the top right corner of your browser
2. Select New Private Window
3. Re-attempt your image upload
Use a different web browser
Try using a different browser to determine if the upload error is browser-specific. For example, if you normally use Google Chrome, use Safari instead.
If your file or image uploads successfully on a different browser, you may need to update or reinstall your original web browser software, or check for and run updates.