BugWP logo BugWP
Back to Community
Home / Community / Theme → Twenty seventeen

Troubleshooting Common Twenty Seventeen Theme Image Display Issues

32 threads Sep 10, 2025 Theme → Twenty seventeen

Content

Many users of the Twenty Seventeen theme encounter problems where images, particularly header and featured images, fail to display correctly on their live site. This can be a frustrating experience, especially when the images appear fine in the WordPress admin preview. Based on community reports, this article outlines the most common causes and their solutions.

Why Do These Image Issues Happen?

Image display problems in the Twenty Seventeen theme are rarely due to a flaw in the theme itself. The vast majority of cases are caused by conflicts with other software or configuration settings. The most frequent culprits are caching mechanisms, plugin conflicts, and specific hosting environments that interfere with how images are served.

Common Solutions for Twenty Seventeen Image Problems

1. Clear All Caches

Caching is the most common reason customization changes don't appear. Caching can occur in multiple places:

  • Browser Cache: Clear your browser's cache and history. For a more thorough test, use your browser's "private" or "incognito" mode to view the site.
  • Server/Plugin Cache: If you use a caching plugin (e.g., W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache), clear its cache from the plugin settings. Also, check if your web host provides a server-level caching service and ask them to clear it for you.
  • Content Delivery Network (CDN): If you use a CDN, purge its cache through your CDN provider's dashboard.

2. Check for Plugin Conflicts

A conflicting plugin is a very common source of unexpected behavior. This is often the case with page builders (like Visual Composer/WPBakery), slider plugins, or optimization plugins.

  • Deactivate all your plugins.
  • Check if the image issue is resolved.
  • If it is, reactivate your plugins one by one, checking the site after each activation, to identify the one causing the conflict.
  • Once identified, you can look for an alternative plugin or contact the problematic plugin's support for assistance.

3. Publish Your Customizations

This may seem simple, but it's an easy step to miss. In the WordPress Customizer, you must click the "Publish" button to save and apply your changes. Simply selecting a new header image and closing the customizer without publishing will not make your changes live.

4. Investigate Custom Code

If you or a developer have added custom code to your site (e.g., in a child theme's functions.php file or via a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields), this code can sometimes break core theme functionality. The issue described with author profile pictures not fetching is a typical example of a custom code conflict. Review any recent code changes and consider testing without them to see if the problem persists.

5. Review Your Hosting Environment

In some cases, hosting configurations can cause issues. The PHP warning in media.php (Thread 8) suggests a problem with how image data is being processed. If you see specific PHP errors or warnings, enabling WordPress debugging can provide more details. Contacting your web host's support to investigate server error logs is often a necessary step for these types of errors.

Conclusion

Image display issues in the Twenty Seventeen theme are almost always solvable by methodically working through the steps above. Start with clearing all caches, as it's the most common fix. If that doesn't work, proceed to deactivate plugins to check for conflicts. Always ensure your changes are published, and be mindful of how custom code can interact with the theme.

Related Support Threads Support