The media settings on WordPress control file upload, image resizing, and file storage options. The installation guide recommends adjusting image size settings and storage preferences in the Media section of the Settings menu. When uploading images, WordPress creates multiple sizes depending on the situation, including thumbnails, medium, and large images. Thumbnail images can be cropped to exact dimensions, while larger images maintain their original ratio. Organizing uploads into month- and year-based folders can help with hosting management. Overall, following these settings can optimize media display and storage on WordPress websites.
Media settings in WordPress are crucial for managing file uploads, image resizing, and storage options on your hosting server. When configuring your media settings, the first step is to navigate to "Settings > Media." In this section, you will find two primary settings groups: image size settings and image cropping/storage settings.
Image sizes
Setting limitations on image sizes allows WordPress to create different versions of uploaded images for various use cases. These versions include:
- The original image: Used as the base image for any edits or further image creations.
- Thumbnail size: Small image representation.
- Crop thumbnail to exact dimensions: Ensures that thumbnails have precise dimensions for an accurate display.
- Medium size: Intermediate image size.
- Large size: Large image representation.
WordPress ensures that only thumbnail images are cropped, while larger images maintain their original aspect ratio to avoid losing any image content. Depending on your website’s layout and theme, different image sizes may be used in various sections.
Uploading Files
You can enable the option to "Organize my uploads into month- and year-based folders" to have WordPress store images in folders named according to the upload date, making it easier to manage them on your hosting server in the future. For instance, your image path could look like ecntt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/How-to-Export-Data-in-WordPress-1.png.
In the Media section, it is advisable to stick with the default settings unless you encounter hosting issues like low storage capacity, which may require reducing image sizes for optimization.
By following these media settings guidelines, you can effectively manage your media files on WordPress and ensure optimal performance for your website.
