WordPress images not showing after migration fix

When migrating a WordPress site, one common issue users might encounter is that images do not display properly. This can be a frustrating experience, particularly because visual content plays a crucial role in the functionality and appearance of a site. Understanding the root causes of this issue and how to fix it is essential for restoring your website to its full operational capacity.

Identify the Problem

Images in WordPress are generally affected after migration due to incorrect paths in the database or issues with file permissions. The problem typically manifests in one of two ways: your images might return a 404 error, or they appear as broken image placeholders.

Check the URL Paths

During a site migration, the domain URL or path to the WordPress installation folder might change. If the paths to the images in your WordPress database don’t match the current path of your live site, the images will fail to display.

• To diagnose, inspect element on a missing image to see what URL is being tried.
• Use a SQL query in phpMyAdmin to check what the database contains. The query: SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = 'attachment'; will display all your media files, allowing you to see the paths currently stored.

Fixing Incorrect Paths

To correct mismatched URLs, you need to update the database entries. This can be done using a SQL query or with WordPress plugins.

• SQL Update: A simple query to replace URLs can be:

  UPDATE wp_posts SET guid = REPLACE(guid, 'oldurl.com', 'newurl.com');

  Ensure you replace ‘oldurl.com’ with the former site URL and ‘newurl.com’ with the new URL.

• WordPress Plugin: Plugins like “Better Search Replace” can be quite effective. After installation:

  1. Go to Tools > Search & Replace.
  2. Input your old URL in the ‘Search for’ field and the new URL in the ‘Replace with’ field.
  3. Select ‘wp_posts’ table for a dry run first to see which URLs will be replaced.

Check File Permissions

Incorrect file permissions can also lead to images not being displayed. File permissions control who can read, write, and execute files on your server.

• Connect to your server using FTP, and navigate to the wp-content folder.
• Right-click on the uploads folder and select ‘File Permissions’.
• A numeric value setting of 755 typically works for folders, whereas 644 is advisable for files. Set the permissions appropriately if they are not set right.

Regenerate Thumbnails

Sometimes, after correcting paths and permissions, images still might not display correctly, especially if thumbnail sizes have not been correctly generated. The “Regenerate Thumbnails” plugin can rebuild all size versions of your media files.

• Install and activate the plugin.
• Navigate to Tools > Regen. Thumbnails and run the process.

Update .htaccess File

If your WordPress site’s .htaccess file wasn’t correctly updated during migration, it could cause image display issues. This is because .htaccess may contain directives that control access to image files.

• Check if the .htaccess file in your root directory has any specific rules that might block image access.
• You might reset this file by selecting Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard and simply clicking “Save Changes” to ensure WordPress generates a clean .htaccess.

Caching Problems

Finally, web browser and server-side caching might display old paths post-migration. Clearing both types of caches is crucial:

• Clear your browser cache from its settings.
• If you use a caching plugin on WordPress, clear the cache through its settings dashboard.

Conclusion

Fixing image display issues after a WordPress migration largely revolves around correcting paths, permissions, and possibly regenerating image files. With the appropriate diagnostic steps and tools, restoring your website’s visual elements can be straightforward. Always ensure a backup is done before performing operations directly on your database.