WordPress is a popular content management system. However, it has its limitations as well. For example, the default upload size in WordPress can be pretty small.
For images and small files, it can be good enough. However, once you start uploading videos, you will realize that sooner than later, you will have think of how to increase WordPress upload size?
Today, we will share multiple ways to do so and help you understand how to discover the existing limit.
How to check the maximum upload size in WordPress?
When uploading any media to WordPress, it will display the maximum limit.
The easiest way to find this limit is to click on media from the sidebar and click on add new. The dialogue box which will open up has the maximum upload file size mentioned at the bottom.
WordPress increase upload size In most cases will be 64 MB all over.
Why should you increase the WordPress upload size?
Now that you know the existing limit, it is time to understand why you might need to increase it.
1. To upload better quality images:
The first reason to increase wordpress upload limit is to upload higher quality pictures
The images are getting more and more detailed these days. The increase in resolution means the file size of those images will also increase.
Sooner than later, you might not be able to upload images due to the maximum limit. However, this problem occurs only when the maximum file size is 10 MB or lower.
2. To enable the installation of advanced plug-ins:
Even with a 50 MB file size limit, installing advanced plug-ins might not be possible. WordPress is efficient only because of the plug-ins on offer. If you cannot upload and install them, the functionality of WordPress will be drastically reduced.
To truly harness the power of WordPress as a content management system, you need a higher file size limit.
3. To upload videos:
It is not uncommon for videos to have a file size of more than 100 MB. If the limit of your website is 50MB or even lower, you wouldn’t be able to upload videos.
It means that to upload videos on your WordPress website, you have no other option but to increase the maximum file size.
4. To sell products:
WordPress can serve as a landing page for selling products. However, for selling products or membership websites, you will have to upload a lot of content to your website. While doing so, you will often encounter files with a size greater than 50MB. Once again, with the existing limits, you might be unable to upload those files.
There are plenty of use cases and reasons you might have to increase the WordPress uploading size limit.
How to increase WordPress upload size?
Another way to have upload size increase in wordpress, you can modify the Htaccess file, modify the WordPress file, and contact your web hosting provider. We will detail all these methods below to help you understand how to execute each.
1. Modify .Htaccess
One of the ways to increase the upload size is to modify the Htaccess file. To access the same, you will need FTP details. The following details are required:
- Hostname
- Username
- Password
- Port
Download an FTP client like Filezilla, which will make it easy for you to access the .htaccess file
Step 1: open Filezilla
After installing FileZilla, you have to open it, enter the above details, and click Quickconnect.
Step 2: Download the .htaccess file
In the right-hand side dialogue box, locate the folder public_html; within it, you will be able to view the .htaccess file. Right-click on it and download it.
Step 3: Add code to the .htaccess file
Right-click the .htaccess file on your computer, open it with notepad, and add code.
php_value upload_max_filesize 512M
php_value post_max_size 256M
php_value memory_limit 256M
php_value max_execution_time 200
php_value max_input_time 200
You can change the numbers and save the file.
Step 4: Reupload the file
Simply drag and drop the file in the dialogue box from where you downloaded it. It will prompt a dialogue box that will allow you to replace the file on your website.
That’s it!
Once the upload is complete, you must change the maximum size.
2. Modify the WordPress file
You can also modify the maximum file upload size through your dashboard.
Wondering how?
By editing the functions.php file. Follow the steps below to do so.
Step 1: login to your dashboard
Visit yourdomain.com/wp-admin/, type in the username and password, and click login.
Step 2: click on the theme editor.
From the left-hand sidebar, click on appearance and then theme editor. That will open up the list of files on the right side and the code dialogue box in the middle of the page.
Step 3: click on functions.php
From the list of files on the right side, click on functions.php.
Step 4: add the following code
Do not tamper with the existing code. Scroll down to the end of the code and add the following lines:
@ini_set(‘upload_max_size’, ‘512M’);
@ini_set(‘post_max_size’, ’64M’);
@ini_set(‘max_execution_time’, ‘300’);
After adding this code, once you click on upload file or save at the bottom of the page, the maximum upload size will be changed to 512 MB.
3. Contact your web hosting provider
Do you not want to go through the code to increase the maximum file upload size?
Worry not! There is an easier solution to this problem as well.
Simply contact your web hosting provider and explain why you need a higher upload file size limit.
The web hosting provider will most likely understand your need and increase the file upload size threshold. Usually, the web hosting provider will not ask you to upgrade to a higher package to do so. It means that simply by opening a support ticket or speaking with the executive of your web hosting provider, you can increase the file upload limit.
Want an alternate solution?
Check out the method below.
Alternate method: Use
The method we are highlighting now won’t increase the file upload size. However, it will allow you to upload images and other media within the permissible size limits.
Another way to do so is to use a plug-in like ShortPixel. The plug-in compresses your images without any deterioration in quality. Apart from images, it compresses PDF files as well. It means that the file size will reduce, and the existing limit will be more than enough.
The plug-in does so with the help of two different techniques.
- Firstly, it uses lossless compression. It can compress various image files like JPEG, PNG and so on. It does the same for PDFs as well.
- For images, it has a second technique as well. The technique is known as smart cropping. It reduces the split size of the image without any loss of information and the file size reduces despite that.
Using these two techniques, it becomes really easy for you to reduce the file size; therefore, whenever you upload an image, you will not encounter the file size limit.
We will now answer some FAQs regarding the same so that you can better understand why and when you should attempt to increase the WordPress file size limit.
FAQ:
Should I upgrade my hosting package to increase the file size limit?
When you cannot increase the upload file size limit using any of the methods we have highlighted, and the web hosting provider asks you to upgrade the package, only then, as a last resort, should you do so. Still, there are a few factors to consider:
- You need to figure out how often you upload large file sizes. If it is a one-off situation, request your hosting provider to let you upload that single file only.
- In case you aren’t satisfied with your web hosting provider, rather than upgrading the package, you can think about changing the web hosting provider to one that provides a larger file size limit. This will help you go with a better web hosting provider and a larger upload size limit.
- You can upload images on an image hosting website and embed them on your website. You won’t have to worry about uploading the images on your website. However, it also means that you will be reliant on another website.
Consider these three things and think about upgrading the web hosting package.
Which files have a larger file size?
Vector image files have a larger file size. Also, any image file with high resolution will be bigger. You should attempt to compress them in a lossless fashion to upload them without triggering the file size limit.
Additionally, if a PDF consists of many pages and images, the file size can also be pretty big.
Conclusion:
It is not that difficult to increase WordPress upload size. We have highlighted multiple ways in which you can do so. Once you act on any of these methods, you won’t have to worry about the file size limit any longer. In most cases, you won’t even have to dabble with the code if you’re willing to contact your web hosting provider. Thus, instead of thinking it is a roadblock, simply use any of the solutions above, and you won’t have to worry about how to increase upload size in WordPress.