Do you want to add an image to a sidebar widget in WordPress? By default, WordPress makes it easy to upload and add images anywhere on your website. In this article, we will show you how to easily add an image in your WordPress sidebar widget. We will share multiple methods, so you can use one that works best for you.
Video Version
If you don’t like the video or need more instructions, then continue reading.
Adding an Image in WordPress Using The Image Widget
The easiest way to add an image in WordPress sidebar is by using the default ‘Image’ widget.
Simply go to Appearance » Widgets page and add the ‘Image’ widget to your sidebar. If you haven’t used widgets before, then see our guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.
The widget will expand, and you will be able to see its settings.
The first option is to add a title to the image widget. After that, click on the ‘Add Image’ button to continue.
This will bring up the WordPress media uploader where you can click on the upload files button to upload your image or select an image you have previously uploaded.
After uploading the image, you will see image settings in the right column. From here, you can provide a title / ALT text for the image, add a description, select size, or even add a link.
Once you are done, you can click on the ‘Add to Widget’ button to save your changes. You will now see a preview of the image inside the widget settings area.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button to save your image widget.
You can now visit your website to see the image displayed on your WordPress blog’s sidebar.
Adding an Image in WordPress Sidebar Using Text Widget
Adding an image to the sidebar using the default ‘Image’ widget is quite easy. However, sometimes you may need to add an image with custom HTML or text with formatting. In that case, you will need to use the ‘Text’ widget instead.
Simply go to Appearance » Widgets page and add the ‘Text’ widget to your sidebar. Under the widget settings, you will see the ‘Add Media’ button above text edit area.
Clicking on the button will bring up the media uploader allowing you to upload or select an image from the media library.
After selecting your image, click on the ‘Insert into post’ button. You will now be able to see an image preview in the text widget settings.
You can continue adding text and other elements to the text widget. The toolbar in the text editor gives you some basic formatting buttons.
Once you are done, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button to store your widget settings.
You can now visit your website to see the sidebar image in action.
Manually Adding an Image in WordPress Sidebar Widget
In some cases, you may need to add additional HTML code to your image. The default text widget allows some very basic HTML, but it may not work with advanced HTML or formatting. In that case, you will need to manually add an image to your blog’s sidebar.
First, you need to upload the image to your WordPress site. Simply go to Media » Add New and upload your image file.
After uploading the image, you need to click on the Edit link next to the image.
WordPress will now take you to the ‘Edit Media’ page where you will see the image file URL on the right side of the screen. You need to copy this URL and paste it into a text editor like Notepad.
Next, you need to go to Appearance » Widgets screen and drag-drop ‘Custom HTML’ widget to your sidebar where you want to display the image.
In the text box area of the widget, you need to add your image using this code:
<img src="Paste The File URL Here" alt="Strawberries" />
The img tag is used in HTML to display images. It needs two attributes, the first one is src which defines the image file location. This is where you will paste the URL you copied earlier.
The second one is alt which is used to provide an alternate text for the image. Your final img tag will look something like this:
<img src="http://www.example.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/strawberries.jpg" alt="Strawberries" />
You need to click on the Save button to store your widget settings and then preview your website.
Adding an Image in WordPress Sidebar Using a Plugin
Another way to add images to your WordPress sidebar is by using a plugin. This will give you a few more options and a simple interface, which some beginners may find easier than the default ‘Image’ widget.
First, you need to install and activate the Image Widget plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, simply go to Appearance » Widgets page. You will notice a new widget labeled ‘Image Widget’ under available widgets column. Simply drag and drop this image widget to your WordPress sidebar where you want to display an image.
Next, click on the ‘Select Image’ button to upload an image or select one from the media library. After that you need to click on the ‘Insert to Widget’ button, and you will see the image preview under widget settings.
You can add a title, alt text, link, and a caption for the image. You can also choose an image size from the list of available options.
Once you are satisfied, simply click on the Save button to save the image widget. That’s all, you can now go to your website and see the image displayed in your sidebar.
We hope this article helped you add an image in WordPress sidebar widget. If you come across a problem, don’t forget to look at our guide on how to fix common image issues in WordPress.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Google+.
Holly says
Hi,
I just submitted a question about my image only showing up on the home page and not other pages on the site. I resolved my issue and wanted to share the solution in case it helps someone else. I was trying to use the Custom HTML widget to SHOW a couple of images to my Content Sidebar and when I specifically configured the addition of the pages I wanted to show, (leaving “Match all” UNchecked), the images only showed up on the Home page.
The solution was to reverse it and tell the widget to HIDE if the page was 404 (or whatever you want). Now the images show up on the sidebar of all my pages.
Thank you,
Holly
WPBeginner Support says
Thanks for sharing your resolution
Admin
Holly says
Hi,
I got the custom HTML widget working on the home page but the images are not showing up on the other static pages. I configured the settings to “Show if” my desired pages are selected but the image only shows up on the home page. I’ve tried deleting and re-adding the widget and removing and re-adding pages. Any ideas?
Thank you!
Holly
WPBeginner Support says
Depending on your theme, the widget area you are placing it at may only display on your home page. You would want to check with the theme’s support for where those widgets should show
Admin
Alice says
Hi, I am trying to add the picture and have it show up in the upper left corner of the post. When I add it and preview everything is there but when I publish it is not there. Any ideas?
WPBeginner Support says
You may want to try clearing your caching to be sure it is not caused by that: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-clear-your-cache-in-wordpress/
As well if you check with your theme’s support there may be a theme specific setting that needs to be changed
Admin
Kathy Turner says
I have added an image to my footer and in Chrome on a desktop it appears and then immediately disappears. I have reduced the size, I have tried adding it as an image in html but nothing solves the problem. On chrome on my mobile it is fine. I don’t have adblock on my desktop. The problem also occurs with Firefox but Microsoft Edge all works fine. Any ideas?
harika says
hi i have created blog in wordpress but posting content language is telugu.i want to change the font style of telugu post how?
Micky says
Hi there,
I’ve tried both mehods listed in this video, and still the sidebar image is not showing up at all.
Any ideas on how I could trouble shoot this?
Thanks!
Doma says
Thanks it was quick n to the point….v helpful.
MS Rahman says
I want show a default image while nothing on the widget. How to do this?
Thanks
Krishna says
Is there any way I can set the image so that the image is displayed only on the start / home page?
Sara william says
Thanks. I am trying hard for uploading my profile pic on and now it can be done easily.
Anette says
Thanks for the explaining it in easy steps!
Rebecca Claxton says
Thanks for always being top of random searches I do for WordPress stuff – and thanks for the useful info suitable for everyday folk using WP!
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Rebecca,
We are glad you find WPBeginner helpful
Don’t forget to join us on Twitter for more WordPress tips and tutorials.
Admin
Karthik Marripoodi says
Thanks for writing about this in detail. I want to put my ads on the widget section. This method will perfectly suit my requirement. But I just have one problem. How to add different image for different blog posts. Is there a way to do that?
Minhaz says
great post, love wpbeginner
Mark says
I believe the video said “Alt tag”. That wouldn’t be the correct terminology – it would be the Alt Attribute of the tag.
Victoria says
Love this tutorial, however I am skeptical to download the image widget because it says that it is untested with my version of WordPress. Will there be updates coming soon or how does it get tested with my version of WordPress?
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Victoria,
Please take a look at our article on should you install plugins not tested with your WordPress version.
Admin
melessa says
Hi, I hope I didn’t overlook it somewhere in the comments, but how do you put a circular or oval instead of square image for the about me in side bar? I’m using divi by elegant themes.
WPBeginner Support says
See our guide on how to add round gravatar images in WordPress. The article talks about gravatar but you can use the CSS with any image.
Admin
Rod says
Hi,
Any idea why bullet points wouldn’t show up in the sidebar widgets despite having taken off “list-style-type: none” from the css file and replaced it with the following code and it still doesn’t work:
.widget ul li { list-style: circle }
Sam says
How can i make the image a clickable link.
Thanks
David says
wow! spot on. The visual text is too much work for just a plain image. I have been looking for a plugin that does exactly this. thanks a lot
Molly says
Thanks, this is exactly what I needed, and you made it so easy!
WPBeginner Support says
Hey Molly,
Glad you found it useful
You may also want to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials.
Admin
Sandra Wiese says
Thank you very much – works perfectly!
WPBeginner Support says
Hey Sandra,
We are glad you found it useful
You may also want to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials.
Admin
Jana says
Hi,
I have a couple of questions. First, I am having trouble installing the Widget Image plugin for some reason. I’ve installed plugins before but I can’t seem to do this one. Granted, I’m a beginner and I added them almost a year ago so maybe I’ve forgotten something. Can you give me any tips?
Also, believe it or not, I got a picture on my widget using the html coding! (Surprised I could code, but you made it very easy and understandable) The only problem I have is that it is full size and I’m hoping to have thumbnails. Is there code for that? If so, I don’t need to install the plugin.
Thanks!
WPBeginner Support says
You can create a smaller image on your computer using any image editing tool and then upload that image.
Admin
James McAllister says
I had a read at this to try and update the image I have on a widget on my blog.
Are you guys on the same planet as the rest of us? Have a read at what you wrote – you’d have to be a Philadelphia lawyer crossed with Steve Jobs to understand the instructions.
Anyway – back to trying to change the image, I’m sure the trick is in there somewhere.
Marvis says
Thank you so much for this info. But i really need to know how to display google ads on my posts and sidebar as well. I have an approved adsense account already and i have generated the ad code. But the next step to take is what i don’t get. I need help please.
WPBeginner Support says
Please take a look at our guide on how to manage ads in WordPress with Adsanity.
Admin
Abbie says
Either I have overlooked many things you have talked about or the site has changed. I do see an option for an image widget which you state does not exist. I do not see any media or gallery to which I can upload an image file.
So, where do I upload the file so I can get a URL to put in the necessary place on the form to set up the image widget?
Paul says
Upload to your media libary
Nikki says
Thank you, this was very helpful. the video could have been a little slower
Luke says
Thanks for the help! Definitely easier to just get the image widget plugin.
manmohan says
It Is Really Helpful For Me …thank u for this post.
But I Have A Question
Erica says
Hi there. I know how to get the images in the sidebar, but they take up too much space so I am trying to do a click-through gallery here. I get the little click-through box, but no images show. I was also able to do an auto-slideshow, but it is very distracting so I don’t want that. I just want the photo gallery that you click through to the next image, but I can’t find anything on how to fix this here.
WPBeginner Support says
Please take a look at our guide how to easily create responsive WordPress image galleries with Envira.
Admin
Giulia says
Hi,
I am having an issue adding image widgets. When I try adding a new one (after having deleted one too) the changes don’t save, the page stops loading, and when I try to access the site (admin and normal) it says can’t connect to server – so basically my site is down. I restarted my computer and installed updates and this solved it the first time, but when I tried adding the widget again the same thing happened, except restarting doesn’t seem to help anymore!
Please help! I would really appreciate it!
Thanks in advance!
Gregor Egan says
Hi, Thanks for that, it works a treat. I have a question; I don’t want the same image to appear on every page so how to I restrict it to a particular page so that I can use a different image on subsequent pages.
Regards,
Gregor
WPBeginner Staff says
Thanks Lee, we are working on that.
Lee says
Thank you, the video is helpful but you zip through the dialogue so fast I had to hit pause, rewind pause, pause, repeat….many times. Please realize some of us are ABSOLUTE newbies on WordPress. Thanks for the great material…but slower would be more helpful.
Sheryl Anderson says
I have the image in the widget – what I want to know is how to point that widget to an opt-in form – how do you add that code
Sultan Ayyaz says
The idea of image widget is really new and very helpful to add image in wordpress sight. very helpful article.
Fiona says
I’ve been wanting to learn how to do this. Perfect timing. Thankyou!
chzumbrunnen says
Another nice way is using the text widget but with the TinyMCE Editor (like it’s used for posts). There’s a plugin for that (actually there are more then one): https://wordpress.org/plugins/black-studio-tinymce-widget/