Media Library
The Media Library is where you can manage your images, audio, videos, and documents all in one place. To view your Media Library, click on Media in your dashboard.
Add Media
When you add images and other media to your pages and posts, they will appear in your Media as well. You can also add files directly to your Media to later use in your pages and posts. There are two methods to do this: add files from your computer and add via URL.
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A free WordPress.com site includes 1 GB of media storage. Upgrade to a paid plan to increase your storage.
Add Files From Your Computer
- In the Media Library click Add New.
- Select the media files you want to upload from your computer and click upload or open (the name of the button depends on which browser you’re using.)
You can select multiple media files at once by holding down the control key (on PC) or the command key (on Mac) while clicking multiple files in the upload window.
You can also drag and drop media files from your computer directly into the Media Library.
Learn more about the accepted file types that you can add to your Media Library.
Add Files From the Web
To add a file using a URL, first click on the chevron (downward arrow icon) next to Add New, then click Add via URL.
Copy the URL of the media file and paste it into the field, then click Upload.
Edit Media Details
Media details include the title, caption, alt text (for images), description, URL, and metadata (like size, type, and upload date) of the media file. To edit these details, follow these steps:
- In the Media Library, click on the media file you want to edit. You’ll see a border around the thumbnail and a number in the bottom right corner.
- Click the Edit button.
- Make your changes to any of the editable fields.
- Click Done in the lower right corner when you’re finished.
You can edit multiple files at a time by clicking each file you want to edit before you click the Edit button. You’ll see each selected file will have a number on the thumbnail in the order that you clicked them.
Once you click Edit, you’ll be able to cycle through the files using the left and right arrows that appear over the file preview.
Obtain Media URL
To to obtain the direct URL for the media file you’ve uploaded, first select the media item, then select Edit.
In the details view, you can copy the URL for your file.
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When you use our advanced hosting features, such as installing custom plugins and themes, the URL of media on your site will be updated to reflect the new hosting configuration. Files uploaded prior to adding these features that are hosted on *.files.wordpress.com will continue to be available at the original URL.
Edit Photos
If you have a photo that needs to be cropped or rotated, you can do so from your Media Library. Your site must be public to use these features.
- Click on the item you want to edit and click Edit.
- In the media preview, click Edit Image:
- Rotate, crop, and flip the image as needed.
- Click Done to save your changes.
Search Your Media
To find your previously uploaded items, select the magnifying glass icon near the top right, then type in the file name or title of the media item you’re looking for.
Delete Files from Media
You can delete files from your Media library to free up space.
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Deleting a file from your Media library will also remove it from the post or page it is on. Deleted media files cannot be recovered. You may want to export a backup of the media library beforehand.
To delete files from Media, click once on each file. Then, click the trash can icon at the top, next to Edit. You will see a warning that it will remove the files from being shown on your site. Click Delete to confirm:
Connect to Google Photos
You can connect your Google Photos account to view your most recent Google photos and add them to your site.
Free Photo Library (Pexels)
The Free Photo Library gives you access to a library of over 40,000 beautiful and useful copyright-free images to use on your site. They are provided courtesy of Pexels. Add these images to your site to create stunning designs.
Openverse
Openverse is a search engine for openly-licensed media which gives you access to over 600 million Creative Commons licensed and public domain image and audio files. All files can be used free of charge.
Export Your Media Library
If you wish to download your images and other media files to your computer, you can use the Export Media Library option located at Tools → Export.
Your media library will be downloaded as a .tar archive. On Mac OS X you can unpack this archive by double-clicking on the icon. For Windows you might need to download a program like 7-Zip to allow you to do this.
If your media library is very large and/or you have a slower connection, the download might time out before it completes. If your browser supports resuming a failed download you can resume it without starting over completely.
Media files downloaded in this way cannot be imported to another WordPress site. If you want to move your media to a different site, it’s best to use the regular export option described above.
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This feature is not currently available on sites with plugins installed. Instead, you can download a backup of your site which will contain your media files.
See page 2 for instructions on how to add images in WP Admin.
Still confused?
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