Do you want to import external images in WordPress?
If you have recently moved your website from one platform or host to another, then there is a good chance that you may have external images embedded on your pages.
In this article, we will explain how to properly import those external images in WordPress.
Why Import External Images in WordPress?
External images are images embedded in your content that load from another website or URL different from your main WordPress website.
Most commonly, WordPress users come across external images issue after migrating their website from other platforms like Blogger, Weebly, Joomla, or WordPress.com.
By default, if you use one of the WordPress importers, then it will try to import images, including featured images. You can see the imported images by visiting Media » Library page in your WordPress admin area.
If you see that all your images are already in the Media Library, but the image URLs in your posts still point to your old website, then you don’t need this article. Instead, you should follow our guide on how to easily update URLs when moving your WordPress site.
However, if you don’t see images imported to your WordPress media library, then continue reading, and we will show you how to import those external images without needing to download images and reupload them.
How to Import External Images in WordPress
The first thing you need to do is to install and activate the Auto Upload Images plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » Auto Upload Images page to review the image import plugin settings.
The default settings will work for most users, but you can change them as needed.
For example, the plugin will import images to your default WordPress media uploads folder. You can change that by providing a different base URL. Other than that, it also allows you to set the filename, image alt tag, image size, and exclude post types.
If you do make some changes, then don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page to store the new settings.
Next, you will need to update the posts or pages containing the external images. Since this is a manual process, it can be time-consuming if you have a lot of content.
Luckily, there’s a quick way to update all posts with external images. Simply go to the Posts » All Posts page and then click on the Screen Options button at the top.
You need to increase the number in the ‘Number of items per page field’ field to ‘999’ and click the ‘Apply’ button.
WordPress will reload the page, and this time it will show up to 999 posts at a time.
Note: If you have slow web hosting, your server may not be able to handle updating so many posts at once. In that case, you will want to do smaller batches of posts at a time or consider switching to better WordPress hosting provider.
Next, you can select all of your posts on this page by clicking the checkbox next to ‘Title’.
After that, you should select ‘Edit’ from the Bulk actions menu and click the ‘Apply’ button.
WordPress will now show you a ‘Bulk Edit’ box with all selected posts.
You just need to click on the ‘Update’ button, and WordPress will update all the posts on your WordPress blog.
Remember, don’t change any of the settings in the bulk edit settings that you see. You just need to click the ‘Update’ button.
This will trigger the plugin to check all selected posts and import external images as it finds them.
If you have more than 999 posts, then you will need to visit the next page to select the remaining posts.
FAQS About Importing External Images in WordPress
Hopefully, this tutorial will have taught you how to import external images in WordPress. If you still have any questions, then we will answer them here.
1. How do I import the media library into WordPress?
First, you will need to go to Tools » Export on the website where you want to get the media library from. Here, you need to choose ‘Media’ and download the media library as a file.
You can then use a plugin like WordPress Importer to upload the media library to your new website. For more details, you can see our guide on how to download your entire WordPress media library.
2. Why is my WordPress media library not showing all images?
If your WordPress media library isn’t showing all the images, then you are likely dealing with the WordPress image upload issue. You can fix this problem by changing file permissions.
For more details, you can see our guide on how to fix the image upload issue in WordPress.
We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to import external images in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to create a custom Instagram photo feed or check out our list of the must-have plugins to grow your site.
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Robin says
I am moving a site from blogger to wordpress and used the auto upload plugin which worked great until i realized it imported all images into the current month and year – March 2022.
Is there a fix for this?
Thanks in advance.
Robin
WPBeginner Support says
That is not an option on the plugin at the moment but if you reach out to the plugin’s author they may look into adding that feature in the future.
Admin
Robin says
Will do. Thank you!
Robin
Laxmikant S Bhumkar says
It saves my lots of hours. Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome
Admin
Silvi says
Hi,
when I try to bulk edit, I get an “HTTP ERROR 500”.
Any ideas why?
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
There are a few reasons for that error, you would want to take a look at our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-internal-server-error-in-wordpress/
Admin
Sergio says
The plugin is necessary, but for me it could not process images from the https site. As well as SVG pictures ignored.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you for letting us know, if you reach out to the plugin’s support they should be able to take a look at what would be causing the problem
Admin
Ali Irani says
Hi guys,
I’m developer of this plugin, thanks for introducing this plugin.
I released v3.2 “Auto upload images” plugin and fixed some reported problems with new versions of WordPress.
Thank you
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome and thanks for creating this plugin
Admin
Melissa says
Unfortunately this plugin converted my attachments to a .php extension instead of keeping their original extensions. They show up as gibberish.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you for letting us know, you would also want to reach out to the plugin’s support and let them know you ran into that issue.
Admin
emre says
I get the the 500 internal server error, refreshing the page ı was able to get images to my media library. The only problem I guess is connecting these images again to posts, any idea ??
WPBeginner Support says
When adding an image block or similar, one option should be to add the image from your media library, you may want to try increasing your memory for what it sounds like you’re running into: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/fix-wordpress-memory-exhausted-error-increase-php-memory/
Admin
Daniel says
I’ve been spending days getting my media from a .com – managed blog to a self hosted one. This is the best. One note: The process would time out every few minutes (blank page). Just refreshing the page would continue the download until you were redirected back to wp-admin. Then the process was done.
Mark says
Hi,
when I try to bulk edit, I get an “HTTP ERROR 500”.
Any ideas why?
Thanks
Richard says
Getting the same error
emre says
Hi,
I would like to ask you that can I import posts with images from localhost to live website?
I used Import/Export tool of wordpress but I always get the “failed media upload” errors.
I look for your valuable answer, thanks
Nicolas Le Pape says
Hi WPB Team,
I have a directory of images stored on a website and “considered” as a CDN. I need these images to be displayed on an online standalone WP website.
**Without importing them in the WP Media library.**
Let’s say one image or more by post. I’ll add an extra field to tell the post the path of its image(s). Custom height and width fields as well.
Which plugin would you advise me to activate pls?
BRgds, NLE
PS: love your articles. Pls keep on the good job!
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Nicolas,
You can manually link to the images like this:
1-click Use in WordPress
Admin
Nicolas Le Pape says
Thx for your reply. That’s easy. I thought there were specific settings to tell WP before doing so. Gathered within a plugin. But ok. Many thanks.