Uploading files to WordPress is kind of a necessity. Well, you probably could get by without ever uploading a file, but it would make for a pretty boring site! If you want to add images, videos, PDFs, or other types of media, you need to know how to upload them to your WordPress site. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult. And most are familiar with the basic way of accomplishing WordPress file uploads. However, in this post, we’ll describe this process for the uninitiated as well as show you how to upload files using several different plugins that aim to streamline the job and add more upload options for site owners and end users. But first, let’s briefly explore why you might want to use a plugin for managing WordPress file uploads.
There are many scenarios where you might need to use a plugin rather than the default WordPress file uploader. Here are some examples:
But perhaps that’s not illustrative enough. You can make use of a file upload plugin to:
Some plugins even allow you to upload new types of files yourself or enhance the file upload experience in the back end.
File uploads can lead to hacks, but most well-made plugins protect against this.
You should be careful what types of files you allow to be uploaded since some can be more dangerous.
Other safety considerations include:
Now that we’ve covered what these plugins do, as well as address some of the reasons you might want to use one, let’s briefly look at how to upload files manually without the aid of a plugin before we dive into our plugin list.
The simplest way to upload files is by dragging and dropping them into the WordPress editor. This only works in the block editor, not the classic editor.
To do this, simply open the post or page where you want to add the file in the block editor. Then click on the + sign to add a new block. In the search bar, type File and then select the File block.
Once you’ve added the File block, click on Upload or Media Library to select the file you want to upload from your computer. You can also add a link to a file that’s already been uploaded elsewhere.
Finally, click on the Select button, and the file will be added to your post or page.
If you want more control over how the file appears, you can click on the three-dot icon and select Show more settings at the top of the File block. Here you can adjust things like text link settings and whether or not to show a Download button.
Now let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress file upload plugins for getting more out of your website’s file upload capabilities. It’s good to note that if you’re using MyKinsta, it’s easy to pre-install plugins onto new sites using the management tool’s multisite features. MyKinsta makes it easy to manage, move, clone sites, and more.
Contact Form 7 is one of the most popular contact form plugins. It’s also one of the few that allows you to add a file upload field to your forms.
This is great if you want people to be able to submit images or other files along with their form submission. The plugin also supports multiple file uploads, meaning people can submit more than one file at a time if needed. You will need a plugin extension to make this happen, however.
The Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload – Contact Form 7 plugin is a good option for adding several feature options to Contact Form 7, including:
Like Contact Form 7, the Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload plugin is free to use.
File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce
Another plugin worthy of consideration is File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce. This plugin allows you to add file upload fields to your WooCommerce product pages.
The plugin includes several features, including:
This is a great option if you want to allow your customers to upload files (like images or videos) along with their orders.
The plugin is available for free from the WordPress plugin directory, with a premium version that includes multiple file uploads, maximum file size limits, and maximum and minimum image resolution requirements starting at $19 per year.
If you plan on using WooCommerce for your online store, you’ll definitely want to check out our managed WooCommerce hosting plans. WooCommerce hosting from Kinsta offers fast load times with a high-performance CDN and server-level caching to improve the visitor user experience.
Or perhaps WordPress File Upload is more what you’re interested in? This plugin is a little different from the other plugins on this list in that it’s specifically designed to be used as a shortcode.
With this plugin, you can add a file upload form anywhere on your WordPress site using a shortcode. The plugin also includes some other features, like:
This plugin is available for free from the WordPress plugin directory. A premium version with additional features is also available for around $20.
Or you could use WP Extra File Types, which allows you to add support for additional file types to be uploaded to your WordPress site.
With this plugin, you can specify which file types are allowed, as well as the maximum file size for each type. The plugin also includes a few other features, like:
This plugin is available for free from the WordPress plugin directory.
Still another option is GD bbPress Attachments. This plugin allows you to add attachments to your bbPress forums, making it a great option if you’re using the bbPress plugin to create a forum on your WordPress site.
With this plugin, you can:
This plugin is available for free from the WordPress plugin directory.
Next on our list is Big File Uploads, which allows you to upload large files to your WordPress site.
With this plugin, you can:
This plugin is available for free from the WordPress plugin directory.
Lastly, we have File Manager, which allows you to manage all of the files on your WordPress site from the comfort of your dashboard. There’s no need to use FTP or SFTP, you can do it all from within WordPress.
With this plugin, you can:
This plugin is available for free from the WordPress plugin directory. A premium version with additional features is available starting at $39 per year.
As you can see, there are quite a few plugins available that allow you to upload files to WordPress. Which one is right for you will depend on your specific needs. But hopefully, you now have a broader view of the options available to you and can make a more informed decision.
And you can always ensure that any plugins you install don’t affect your site speed by leveraging a tool like Kinsta APM. This performance monitoring tool allows you to see how any changes you make (including installing new plugins) affect your site speed and so much more.
Why do you need to add file uploading capability to your site? Do you have a favorite plugin that we didn’t include here? Let us know in the comments section below!
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