Change Default Image Upload Sizes in WordPress

One of my biggest problems with WordPress is with uploading images. I try to keep all images a max of 640 px wide, but then link the images to the original size so you can click and see the full image with Fancybox. The only problem is, by default, WordPress sets large images to 1024 px width, then medium images are a tiny 300 px width. And if you go to change the image size in the default WordPress photo uploader, you have to choose a size percentage. Not an ideal situation, and it was frustrating enough that I’d started resizing images in Photoshop Elements before uploading them.

Turns out, you can change the default image sizes in WordPress, without hacking PHP code. Tucked away in the settings menu on your WordPress dashboard, you’ll find a Media tab. Here, you can set your favorite sizes for large and small images, thumbnails, and media embeds like YouTube videos. Enter the max height and width you want to use, and WordPress will scale your images proportionally to fit in either or both of these maximums.

Now, next time you upload a picture into a post, you’ll have your new image settings. Getting the size of image you need is now only a click away. And, hey, if those new sizes don’t work for you, you can always change them again.

Now we just need drag and drop image uploading built into WordPress core…

Thoughts? @reply me on Twitter.