Images and the WordPress Media Library

As humans, it’s in our nature to communicate visually. Images process quickly and people are drawn to them.

You have to remember that as humans, we connect emotionally to images more than video, audio or text. People make decisions and take action quicker when prompted by images, rather than by reading a lot of text.

~ Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner

Media Library

Your WordPress site has its own media library. Media consists of the images, video, recordings, and files that you upload and use in your blog. Media is typically uploaded and inserted into the content when writing a Post or Page. The WordPress Media Library is found in the sidebar menu on the Dashboard.

Once in the Media Library, you can view the images in list view or a grid layout. You can filter items by type or date and search for specific files.

Attachment Details

Clicking on an item in the media library allows you to see its details which include its name, type, upload date, and file size and dimensions.

You can also see which post the image was uploaded to and therefore, where it is being used on your site. The URL field on the attachment details screen displays the direct link to the file. This link is useful if you want to link to the image directly possibly in a widget or on social media.

Adding Images

Adding the images directly to the media library is very simple. Click the Add New item under the Media sidebar menu or on the Media Library page and you can drag and drop them into place. My preference is to click the Select Files button and locate the files on my computer. Whichever option you choose, you can upload multiple files at one time.

Whenever you upload a new image to your website, WordPress creates three more versions of that file: thumbnail, media, and large. You can see and/or change these sizes through the Media Settings screen.

Title and Alt Text Fields

When you upload an image to WordPress, you’ll see a few fields to fill in with information; title, caption, alt text, and description.

Do not leave the Title field with the default value. Edit it to show an accurate description of the file or image.

Do not leave the Alt Text field blank. This field describes to search engines and screen readers – what the photo is about and how it relates to the content. Search engines cannot “see” your images only the text you provide in this field. Here is an opportunity to boost your SEO by putting in a relevant information about the image.

I usually duplicate the text from the Title field into the Alt Text field.

Image Editing

Although best practices state that it is best to resize and edit your images before uploading to the Media Library, WordPress does provide you tools to crop and resize your images.

Clicking on the Help Question Mark icon next to each option will provide you additional instructions to follow.

I recommend that every post and page on your site include at least one image.

Resources:

To resize a large image, I recommend using the resize tool from PicMonkey.com.

To enhance your images before uploading to WordPress, check out this article from Canva.com.

Listen to Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner share a delightful interview with Donna Moritz full of great tips and tools for enhancing your online presence with visual social media.

For a detail description of each option in the Media Library, click through to this article in the WordPress Codex.

Do you need a quick answer to a WordPress question, send me a note through my contact page.