How To Stop WordPress From Scaling Images

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As a WordPress user, you may have noticed that sometimes your images are automatically scaled down after uploading them to your media library. This can be frustrating, especially when you want to maintain the original size and quality of your images. In this blog post, we will discuss how to stop WordPress from scaling images and how to maintain the original size of uploaded images.

Why Does WordPress Scale Images?

WordPress automatically scales large images to ensure that they do not exceed the maximum size set by your theme or hosting provider. This is done to optimize website performance and reduce loading times. The default maximum width and height for images in WordPress is set at 2560 pixels.

How to Stop WordPress from Scaling Images

Follow these simple steps to stop WordPress from scaling your images:

  1. Add custom code to your theme’s functions.php file
  2. Use a plugin to disable image scaling

1. Add Custom Code to Your Theme’s functions.php File

To disable image scaling, you can add custom code to your theme’s functions.php file. Before proceeding, it is recommended that you create a child theme so that you don’t lose any customizations when updating your theme.

Follow these steps to add the custom code:

  1. Access your WordPress files using an FTP client or your hosting provider’s file manager.
  2. Navigate to the ‘wp-content/themes’ directory and locate your active theme’s folder.
  3. Edit the ‘functions.php’ file and add the following code at the end of the file:

add_filter( ‘big_image_size_threshold’, ‘__return_false’ );

This code disables the image scaling feature by preventing WordPress from applying the threshold limit. Save your changes and re-upload the functions.php file to your server. Now, your images will no longer be automatically scaled down after uploading them to your media library.

2. Use a Plugin to Disable Image Scaling

If you prefer to use a plugin instead of editing your theme’s functions.php file, you can install and activate the Disable “BIG Image” Threshold plugin. This plugin does the same thing as the custom code mentioned earlier, but without requiring you to edit any files.

Follow these steps to install and activate the plugin:

  1. Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to ‘Plugins’ > ‘Add New’.
  2. Search for ‘Disable “BIG Image” Threshold’ and click ‘Install Now’.
  3. Once installed, click ‘Activate’ to enable the plugin.

With the plugin activated, your images will no longer be scaled down when uploaded to your media library.

Conclusion

Disabling image scaling in WordPress can help you maintain the original size and quality of your uploaded images. You can either add custom code to your theme’s functions.php file or use a plugin to achieve this. Remember, only use this method if you are confident that your server can handle the large image files and that it won’t negatively impact your website’s performance or loading times.