How to Fix HTTP Errors When Uploading Images to WordPress

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If you’ve been blogging with WordPress for a while, you might have run into HTTP errors when uploading images to WordPress, right?

It is a common HTTPS error in WordPress; there’s no reason to panic or think you’re the only one with such experience.

Most of us blogging on WordPress have encountered several errors, including the HTTP image uploading error.

The good news is that many options exist to fix this error message and its causes. But first, let’s look at the causes of image upload errors in WordPress.

The Causes of Image Upload Errors in WordPress

From experience, there are many causes of file uploading errors in your WordPress admin. But as many as these causes are, we can only classify them into two groups:

• Client-Side Problems
• Server-Side problem

Many things could lead to a file upload HTTP error message on the client-side such as login sessions as expired, uploading unsupported file types, exceeding maximum file size, bad connection, etc.

While on the server side, it could result from server configuration, plugins, memory limits, Shared hosting throttling resources, etc.

Whatever the case, there is a solution, and that’s what this article’s next chapter will be about.

So, let’s dive in together.

How to Fix HTTP Image Errors in WordPress

Here are different possibilities that cause the image HTTP error message in WordPress and how ways to fix the problems.

1. Check If You’re Currently Login

You may not realize it, but for security purposes, WordPress automatically closes the current logging section if the admin dashboard is idle for a certain period.

During this time, the WordPress editor auto-save function will not work, and the file upload function will fail, too.

So first, before trying other options to fix the HTTP errors when uploading images to WordPress on this list, refresh the page to see if you’re currently logged in.

You will be redirected to the WordPress login page if you’re not logged in.

Once you log in, the file upload should be successful. If the error persists, try the option below.

2. Refresh The Page

For some reason, your web browser might have lost connection with WordPress.

This may be due to a poor network from your ISP or a temporary glitch from your web host; in this case, you need to refresh the page.

Refreshing the page should help fix this error automatically and resolve itself.

In many cases, this is the easiest way to fix the HTTP image error in WordPress. But if this does not resolve the issue, the next option should work.

3. Change The File Name

Sometimes, we try uploading existing WordPress images with the same file name, and WordPress auto-appends a number to the end. But sometimes, this function doesn’t work.

In this case, changing the file name might work.

Be sure to rename the file locally and not within the WordPress image library. If you try to do that, WordPress won’t let you rename the file.

Also, don’t add special characters like apostrophes, international characters, and symbols to the file name. Technically, WordPress might support these characters and symbols, but it might lead to other unknown issues.

4. Deactivate Plugins

Some image optimization and security plugins can cause HTTP image errors. Security plugins like WordFence are known to cause restrictions of a kind.

If you use this plugin, consider deactivating the plugin one after the other. Image optimization plugins are directly tied to the WordPress media library and functionalities.

A quick way to find the culprit is by deactivating all plugins using the bulk menu action button. After the bulk deactivation, upload the image and start activating plugins.

If the HTTP error returns, you’ve found the culprit.

You need to delete the plugin and find an alternative if the function is so important to your blog’s functionalities.

5. Change WordPress Image Editor Library

As a content management system that runs on PHP, WordPress uses two modules to handle images – GD library and Imagick (Image Magick)

Depending on availability on your server, WordPress can use any of the two modules to handle images, but Imagick is well known for being too notorious.

Imagick often runs into memory issues that causes HTTP error when uploading images in WordPress. Consider adding the following code to your theme’s function.php file to make GD Library your default image module.

function wpb_image_editor_default_to_gd( $editors) {
$gd_editor = ‘WP_Image_Editor_GD’;
$editors = array_diff( $editors, array ($gd_editor ) );
array_unshift( $editors, $gd_editor );
return $editors;
}
add_filter( ‘wp_image_editors’, ‘wpb_image_editor_default_to_gd’);

Add the above code and click on the save option. Then try to upload the image again to see if this fixes the HTTP image error in WordPress.

Remove the code and save the changes if the issue is not resolved.

Well, at this stage, I must be honest with you. If you have to go to this length to resolve this issue, I believe it’s time to move your blog to a better web host.

As a business owner, your attention should be on growing your business and not on technical issues like adding codes to your theme file to resolve HTTP errors when uploading images to WordPress.

There are hundreds of web hosts today, but I usually recommend something I have personally used and trusted. I can only recommend NameCheap, Hostinger, Cloudways, and WPEngine as trusted and reliable web hosts.

6. Edit .htaccess File

If you’re on a Shared Hosting server that uses Imagick, a common problem is that only a few resources are on it. Your web host might limit Imagick from using multiple threads for image processing.

This may cause the WordPress HTTP image upload error. To fix this, you must add a single line of code to the .htaccess file.

SetEnv MAGICK_THREAD_LIMIT 1

This code tells Imagick to use a single thread for image processing and helps fix the HTTP image error.

7. Increasing WordPress Memory Limits

One of the most common causes of HTTP errors when uploading images to WordPress is a lack of memory.

Lack of memory limit in WordPress can lead to other known issues such as the white screen of death, the website not loading, plugins not working, etc.

In WordPress, PHP memory limits exist to prevent RAM-hogging resources from causing havoc on your site.

But there’s also a downside to this technique.

Servers power your WordPress website, and the plugins run on a PHP script. In rare situations, some plugins may go over the required RAM limit.

However, increasing memory limits is not as complicated as you thought. But before increasing your PHP limit, you can check the currently allowed limit by your web host.

From your WordPress admin, hover your mouse on Tools>>Site Health. Then under the info tab, you’ll see all site server details.

If the currently allowed limit is set high, there is a good chance one or more plugins are broken or using too much PHP memory limit.

As you can see from the image, this blog’s PHP memory limit is set fairly high enough.

If you need to increase the PHP memory limit, you can add this line of code to your wp-config.php file.

define (‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT,’ ‘256M’);

This will increase the PHP memory limit to 256 MB. Check out this post for more information on how to increase the PHP memory limit in WordPress.

Though you can always increase PHP memory limits, if your web host sets the limit too low than what your website requires, there is little you can do to increase it.

8. Switch to Another Web Browser

WordPress HTTP image error might not relate to your web server or files; it could be from your web browser.

You first need to switch to another web browser and see if the issue persists. If the problem persists, then try other troubleshooting on this list.

9. Check the WordPress PHP Version

Your WordPress installation software requires a PHP version of 5.2.4 or higher to run smoothly.

If your web host is not running the latest version of PHP, all the options on this list won’t help fix HTTP errors when uploading images to WordPress.

So, you need to check which PHP version your web host is running.

You can access it via Tools>>Site Health from your WordPress admin menu. From here, click on the info tab, scroll down to Server, and click on it to reveal all server info.

NameCheap has been the go-to web host since this blog was created in 2012; the blog runs on the latest PHP version. I suggest you move to NameCheap if your web host is not offering the latest web hosting technology.

10. Change Your WordPress Theme

Switching to a different WordPress theme might be the next option if nothing works.

If the problem occurs after installing a theme, you need to change to a different theme. But first, back up your entire WordPress blog before making the switch.

You can switch to the default WordPress theme or anyone of your choice, but to make things easier, the default theme will be good.

If the HTTP error didn’t show up after changing the theme, it could be an isolated case, plugin conflict, or compatibility issue.

Conclusion…Fixing HTTP Errors When Uploading Images

If you’ve been blogging on WordPress for a while, you may have encountered some HTTP error status.

They are part of web management and running an online business. So don’t panic if you ever encounter HTTP errors when uploading images to WordPress. I’m sure one of the above fixes will solve the issue altogether.

Do you have any other troubleshooting for fixing HTTP image errors on WordPress? Let us know in the comment box.