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Why Are Your WordPress Images Not Showing? A Troubleshooting Guide

15 threads Sep 28, 2025 Core → Fixing wordpress

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Discovering that your images have vanished from the media library, featured image spots, or archive pages is a common and frustrating WordPress issue. This problem can make your site look broken and unprofessional. Based on community reports, this guide will walk you through the most common causes and their solutions.

Why Do WordPress Images Disappear?

Images can fail to load for several reasons, often related to server configuration, file permissions, or conflicts within your WordPress setup. It's rarely a single cause, so a methodical approach is key.

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

1. Check File Permissions

The most common culprit is incorrect file permissions on the wp-content/uploads directory. WordPress needs permission to read and write files here. Using an FTP client or your hosting provider's file manager, ensure the permissions for this folder are set to 755 for directories and 644 for files. Incorrect permissions can prevent image thumbnails from being generated or displayed.

2. Regenerate Your Thumbnails

If your theme has changed or you've adjusted image sizes, existing images might lack the correctly sized thumbnails. Use a trusted plugin like "Regenerate Thumbnails" to recreate all image sizes for your media library. This often resolves issues where images appear in the library but not on the front end.

3. Investigate Server Configuration

While you may have already increased the max_post_size in your PHP settings, other server limits could be at play. Check your hosting provider's error logs for any related messages. Also, confirm that the memory_limit and upload_max_filesize directives in your php.ini file are set to sufficient values (e.g., 256M and 64M, respectively).

4. Conduct a Conflict Test

Even if you've deactivated plugins once, a conflict can be subtle. Switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four and deactivate all plugins. If the images reappear, reactivate your theme and plugins one by one to identify the specific cause.

5. Review Your .htaccess File

A corrupted or misconfigured .htaccess file can block access to your images. Rename your current .htaccess file to .htaccess_old and try to reload your site. WordPress will generate a new, basic one. If this fixes the issue, you'll need to carefully reapply any custom rules (for redirects, security, etc.) to the new file.

When to Contact Your Host

If none of the above steps work, the issue might be at the server level. Problems with the web server configuration (like Nginx or Apache) or an overloaded server can cause 404 errors for images. Contact your hosting provider's support team and provide them with the steps you've already taken. They can check server-side error logs and configuration for deeper issues.

By following these steps, you can systematically diagnose and resolve the problem of missing images, restoring your site's visual appeal.

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