WPBeginner

Beginner's Guide for WordPress

  • Blog
    • Beginners Guide
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Showcase
    • Themes
    • Tutorials
    • WordPress Plugins
  • Start Here
    • How to Start a Blog
    • Create a Website
    • Start an Online Store
    • Best Website Builder
    • Email Marketing
    • WordPress Hosting
    • Business Name Ideas
  • Deals
    • Bluehost Coupon
    • SiteGround Coupon
    • WP Engine Coupon
    • HostGator Coupon
    • Domain.com Coupon
    • Constant Contact
    • View All Deals »
  • Glossary
  • Videos
  • Products
X
☰
Beginner's Guide for WordPress / Start your WordPress Blog in minutes
Choosing the Best
WordPress Hosting
How to Easily
Install WordPress
Recommended
WordPress Plugins
View all Guides

WPBeginner» Blog» Tutorials» How to Fix Add Media Button Not Working in WordPress

How to Fix Add Media Button Not Working in WordPress

Last updated on April 26th, 2018 by Editorial Staff
86 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Free WordPress Video Tutorials on YouTube by WPBeginner
How to Fix Add Media Button Not Working in WordPress

Recently one of our users reported that the ‘Add Media’ button on their WordPress site has suddenly stopped working. This problem does not display any error or warning which leaves users clueless about why their ‘Add Media’ button is not working. In this article, we will show you how to easily fix the ‘Add Media’ button not working issue in WordPress.

Fixing add media button not working in WordPress

What causes the WordPress ‘Add Media’ Button to Stop Working?

This problem is commonly caused by conflicting scripts or stylesheets loaded by WordPress plugins or themes installed on your site. The default behavior of WordPress is to load all required scripts and stylesheets by combining the requests.

This is usually done in the WordPress admin area to improve performance and speed.

The WordPress post editor uses JavaScript for all buttons on the screen including the add media button. A conflict can stop JavaScript from working which will disable the ‘Add Media’ button.

Add media button stopped working in WordPress

That being said, let’s take a look at how to troubleshoot and fix the ‘Add Media’ button not working in WordPress.

Fixing Add Media Button Not Working Issue in WordPress

The quick fix is to add the following code to your wp-config.php file. You can do this by editing wp-config.php file and adding this code just before the line that says ‘That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging’.

define('CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', false );

This code simply tells WordPress to load each script separately which helps avoiding a JavaScript conflict with buggy scripts and the core WordPress features.

After you have added the code, go ahead and the visit post edit screen to see if the add media button is working as expected.

Note: Adding this code is not a proper long-term solution because you still have a script that is causing the issue. An easier way to find the source of the problem is by using the inspect tool. It will show you console errors which can lead you to the source of the conflict.

If you want a long-term fix for this issue, then you need to perform the basic WordPress troubleshooting tips to figure out which plugin or theme may be causing the issue.

We strongly recommend that you do this on your staging site instead of a live site. Here’s a step by step guide on how to create a WordPress staging site. All the best WordPress hosting companies like Bluehost, SiteGround, WP Engine, and Liquid Web offer 1-click staging functionality.

On your staging site, you need to start by deactivating all your WordPress plugins and then check if it fixed the ‘Add Media’ button. If it does, then this means one of the plugins was causing the issue.

Deactivate all plugins

You can now activate the plugins one-by-one, and after activating a plugin check the ‘Add Media’ button. This will help you find out which plugin is causing the issue. After you find the culprit, you can replace it with another plugin or ask plugin author for help.

If deactivating plugins doesn’t solve the issue, then the next step is to temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Seventeen.

Switch to a default WordPress theme

If switching to the default theme fixes the issue for you, then this means your theme is causing the conflict. You can ask theme author for support or switch to a different WordPress theme.

Once you find the source of the problem on your staging site, then you can apply the fix on your live WordPress site.

We hope this article helped you learn how to fix add media button not working in WordPress. You may also want to see our list of the most common WordPress errors and how to fix them.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

86 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Popular on WPBeginner Right Now!
  • Checklist

    Checklist: 15 Things You MUST DO Before Changing WordPress Themes

  • Google Analytics in WordPress

    How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress for Beginners

  • Revealed: Why Building an Email List is so Important Today (6 Reasons)

    Revealed: Why Building an Email List is so Important Today (6 Reasons)

  • How to Properly Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org

About the Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi. Trusted by over 1.3 million readers worldwide.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

4 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Megan Alves says:
    Feb 6, 2019 at 1:33 pm

    Hello! I don’t even have an “add media” button on my new post screen. I’ve used word press before (different account) and I’ve never seen this.

    Can you advise?

    Megan

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Feb 7, 2019 at 10:59 am

      WordPress has moved to the block editor which is why you don’t see the add media button. You would want to take a look at our guide on how to use the block editor here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-use-the-new-wordpress-block-editor/

      Reply
  2. Tabish Hyyat says:
    Apr 27, 2018 at 1:54 am

    Thanks! I was the one who asked it, But the thing is that I have been testing it in a micro blogging theme (P2) and wanted to remove footer credits, so after I tried plugins, I removed code after which the upload problem occurred on the FRONT END. Now this link is not for advertising purposes, but I want you to have a look here: I put back the code but even now it doesn’t do as it should.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Apr 27, 2018 at 9:48 pm

      Hi Tabish,

      Please try deactivating all WordPress theme and switching to a default theme. We suspect that using autoptimize plugin may be causing the issue.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

Over 1,320,000+ Readers

Get fresh content from WPBeginner

Featured WordPress Plugin
All in One SEO logo
All in One SEO
Improve website SEO rankings with AIOSEO plugin. Learn More »
How to Start a Blog How to Start a Blog
I need help with ...
Starting a
Blog
WordPress
Performance
WordPress
Security
WordPress
SEO
WordPress
Errors
Building an
Online Store
Useful WordPress Guides
    • 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins Compared (Pros and Cons)
    • How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress
    • Why You Need a CDN for your WordPress Blog? [Infographic]
    • 30 Legit Ways to Make Money Online Blogging with WordPress
    • Self Hosted WordPress.org vs. Free WordPress.com [Infograph]
    • Free Recording: WordPress Workshop for Beginners
    • 24 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Business Websites
    • How to Properly Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
    • 5 Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress Compared
    • Which is the Best WordPress Popup Plugin? (Comparison)
    • Best WooCommerce Hosting in 2020 (Comparison)
    • How to Fix the Internal Server Error in WordPress
    • How to Install WordPress - Complete WordPress Installation Tutorial
    • Why You Should Start Building an Email List Right Away
    • How to Properly Move WordPress to a New Domain Without Losing SEO
    • How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting for Your Website
    • How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform (Comparison)
    • WordPress Tutorials - 200+ Step by Step WordPress Tutorials
    • 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins Compared
    • 5 Best WordPress Membership Plugins (Compared)
    • 7 Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business (2020)
    • How to Choose the Best Domain Registrar (Compared)
    • The Truth About Shared WordPress Web Hosting
    • When Do You Really Need Managed WordPress Hosting?
    • 5 Best Drag and Drop WordPress Page Builders Compared
    • How to Switch from Blogger to WordPress without Losing Google Rankings
    • How to Properly Switch From Wix to WordPress (Step by Step)
    • How to Properly Move from Weebly to WordPress (Step by Step)
    • Do You Really Need a VPS? Best WordPress VPS Hosting Compared
    • How to Properly Move from Squarespace to WordPress
    • How to Register a Domain Name (+ tip to get it for FREE)
    • HostGator Review - An Honest Look at Speed & Uptime (2020)
    • SiteGround Reviews from 4196 Users & Our Experts (2020)
    • Bluehost Review from Real Users + Performance Stats (2020)
    • How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a WordPress Website?
    • How to Create an Email Newsletter the RIGHT WAY (Step by Step)
    • Free Business Name Generator (A.I Powered)
    • How to Create a Free Business Email Address in 5 Minutes (Step by Step)
    • How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress for Beginners
    • How to Move WordPress to a New Host or Server With No Downtime
    • Why is WordPress Free? What are the Costs? What is the Catch?
    • How to Make a Website in 2020 – Step by Step Guide
Deals & Coupons (view all)
Advanced Coupons
Advanced WooCommerce Coupons
Get 50% off the Advanced Coupons smart coupons plugin for WooCommerce.
ProfilePress
ProfilePress Coupon
Get 20% OFF on ProfilePress WordPress ultimate user and profile plugin.
Featured In
About WPBeginner®

WPBeginner is a free WordPress resource site for Beginners. WPBeginner was founded in July 2009 by Syed Balkhi. The main goal of this site is to provide quality tips, tricks, hacks, and other WordPress resources that allows WordPress beginners to improve their site(s).
Join our team: We are Hiring!

Site Links
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • FTC Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Free Blog Setup
  • Free Business Tools
Our Sites
  • OptinMonster
  • MonsterInsights
  • WPForms
  • SeedProd
  • Nameboy
  • RafflePress
  • Smash Balloon

Copyright © 2009 - 2021 WPBeginner LLC. All Rights Reserved. WPBeginner® is a registered trademark.

Managed by Awesome Motive | WordPress hosting by SiteGround | WordPress CDN by MaxCDN | WordPress Security by Sucuri.