Complete Guide on How to Add Featured Image in WordPress in 2022

You’re creating the words ” Set Featured Image in WordPress.”

But, in WordPress, what is a featured image in WordPress? What does it do? Where will you be eligible to start? What’s the point of having one, and how big should it be? What is a WordPress set featured image? You will find all of your answers in this article. Let us have a look.

What Is a Featured Image, Exactly?

A featured image is also known as a post thumbnail. The featured picture might be one of your articles, pages, or custom post kinds.

Such images will very certainly accompany your material when viewed from your website’s archive or homepage. It will also be displayed when you share your content on other sites.

The picture shows above or below the title in specific layouts. Others will automatically view it on the right or left side of the post. In addition, featured pictures and recent or popular publications may show in the widget area.

Also Read :- Cover Image vs. Featured Image in WordPress Block Editor (Beginner’s Guide)

How can you find featured images and use them effectively?

The next significant question that most newcomers come into contact with? Where can we locate photos as featured images?

You cannot just use Google image search to find any image on the internet. These pictures are protected by copyright legislation. And utilizing them without authorization might get you in hot water.

Fortunately, there are several resources accessible. You may use this site to obtain free pictures for your blog posts.

The following are some excellent resources:

Shutterstock – There are a few free pictures on their site. However, the actual value comes from their premium programs. It gives you access to a wide range of high-resolution images, graphics, drawings, videos, and other media.

Unsplash — A well-known internet site that publishes high-resolution pictures. You may use it on your website as well as other projects.

Negative Space — A well-organized collection of free pictures with no copyright.

New Old Stock is a collection of vintage photographs sourced from public archives.

Setting a Featured Image

On-site, open the editor of the post or page where you want to exhibit a remarkable header picture. Place the Featured Image module on the right. By selecting the Set Featured Image button, you can change the featured image.

Suppose you’re using WP-Admin and don’t see the Featured Image module on the Add New or Edit Post pages. Then, please ensure that Featured Image is chosen in your Screen Options.

You’ll see an uploading page similar to the one you get when putting an image into a blog post. Follow the on-screen steps to select and upload the photo from your computer. or choose one of the pictures already in your Media Library.

Once the image has successfully been uploaded, one or more photos will show as thumbnails. Please select the one you wish to use as your featured picture by clicking on it. It will then highlight it blue with a checkmark. Finally, you may add a caption and alt text if desired (optional) by selecting the Edit button.

Then, in the bottom right, click the Set Featured Image button:

Don’t forget to hit the Update button on your post/page to save your changes. Your featured image is currently in place!

Remove Featured Image

Reopen the post or page editor to delete or replace a featured picture. And under the Featured Image section, click the Remove Featured Image option.

Suppose a highlighted image remove. It will show your header picture.

Images in the Featured Header

This feature is only accessible in themes. It supports custom header images and has featured header images turned on.

For instance, your personalized header may look like this.

However, if you want to personalize your About page, it can change only that page’s header picture.

Also Read :- 15+ Creative Website Header Design Examples + Tips

Other images featured

Aside from featured header pictures, several themes also offer alternate featured photos. Slideshows, post thumbnails, and pictures connected to highlighted posts are examples.

Three suggestions for efficient use of featured pictures on your WordPress site

For the pictures featured in your WordPress articles, however, you may use anything you desire since they are conspicuous. How you utilize them is better to be strategic. Let us look at some of the most acceptable ways to make

Use Creative Commons license pictures

Suppose your team includes a skilled photographer or illustrator. Maybe they can create Original featured photos for your blog. It will be the perfect picture. But it is often difficult to do. You don’t simply need someone with the necessary skills and time.

A lot of original photos must also create, especially if you update often. For most blogs, it’s a better solution to use third-party pictures. You have some alternatives even here.

The photos on a stock site can pay for. Or you can utilize a creative communications medium with a license. However, the initial method is nothing incorrect. The latter has several advantages.

Creative pictures are free of charge. You may even use it on a monetized blog. You can select from many selections. All the platforms for the collection and sharing of these photos are available.

Three of the numerous examples include Pixabay, Pixnio, and Flickr. Again, this is dependent on the licensing. You should be able to make changes to the pictures. It means you may start with an existing image and add your touches and branding.

To see the previous point in action. To generate this picture template, you may make use of Canva.

Remember to give credit to the original artist when you use a Creative Commons image! It is an excellent practice, even though it is not technically necessary for every license. A simple sentence at the bottom of the piece, such as “Featured image: John Smith,” would be enough.

Images licensed under Creative Commons aren’t the only ones available for free. For example, Unsplash is a popular photo-sharing website.

Maintain consistency in the design of your featured photos.

Because each post in WordPress has its Add featured image WordPres. These pictures make up a substantial portion of your website’s material. As a consequence, it’s critical to consider how they may help to represent. Not only your specific content but also your whole site.

While you can select the image that appears to be most suited for each post, a better approach would be to keep all of your featured photos uniform. You might, for example, use realistic pictures. However, you may also go for a more abstract appearance.

In any case, the picture style you select should mirror the identity and tone of your website. For example, your featured picture should be Serious and professional or lighthearted and whimsical. You can even use specific colors or focus on particular subjects.

However, if you have multiple authors writing posts, make sure that. Then, everyone is on the same page about the aesthetic of your featured photos. Alternately, assign one team member to find and modify a WordPress featured picture for each new article.

It makes it much easier to ensure they all appear decent when arranged together. To save time, use Canva to build a template that you can reuse for each article.

You should choose a consistent size for each WordPress featured picture. It is totally up to you what this is. However, we advocate selecting proportions with a wider width than a taller height.

You also don’t want your featured photos to be overly huge, as this might harm your site’s performance. It directs us to our last point.

Optimize each featured image on WordPress.

As previously said, prominent pictures might ultimately make up a sizable portion of your site’s media collection. As a result, they may eventually have an impact on the performance of your website.

We’ve already covered the necessity of a fast site, as well as the impact of pictures on loading speeds. So we won’t go over the same ground again.

Furthermore, a significant number of huge, high-quality photos might considerably slow down your site. The solution is to optimize each featured picture in WordPress before publishing it to your site. It makes it ‘lighter’ and less likely to slow down your page speeds.

With the appropriate program, you may compress photos without sacrificing their quality. For example, you may install the Optimole plugin on your website.

It will connect you to the Optimole image optimization service, allowing you to compress all of the pictures on your site, both new and old. There is even a free plan that will enable you to optimize up to 2,000 photos. It’s enough to keep most blogs going for a while.

Also Read :- Complete Guide On How To Optimize Images Without Losing Quality in 2021

Conclusion

Featured images are an essential aspect of WordPress. Every blogger would benefit from knowing that In WordPress, you may add a featured image to each post or article. It enables you to transmit information to your audience graphically.

It may even be a critical component of your branding strategy. Adding featured pictures to WordPress is a straightforward process. However, bear the following suggestions in mind:

• First, make use of Creative Commons-licensed images or free stock photos.
• Maintain consistency in the design of your featured photos.
• Finally, optimize each WordPress featured image with a tool such as Optimole.