Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The WordPress Block Editor<\/a> enables you to add whatever text and media you like to your blog posts. Each new paragraph or piece of media is placed into its own block, and together they make up the content of the post itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, you also have a number of page-wide options in the sidebar to the right of the editor. Some of these are settings we\u2019ve discussed in the past, such as categories and tags<\/a>. Though, one that\u2019s particularly easy for newcomers to overlook is the Featured Image<\/em> section:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, you can add a single image to represents the post as a whole. Simply click on Set featured image<\/em>, then, you\u2019ll be able to either upload a new image or choose a file from your Media Library<\/em>. You can also provide a caption, ‘alt’ text<\/a>, and description like any other image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re done, hit Select<\/em>, and a thumbnail of the image will appear in the Featured Image<\/em> section:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a general rule, this image doesn\u2019t appear within the body of the post itself, although how a featured image is displayed depends on your active theme. Still, most of the time it will appear in your post’s header, somewhere near the title:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes a featured image crucial, as it\u2019s the first thing readers will see, and will set the tone for the entire post. What\u2019s more, this isn\u2019t the only place featured images appear. They\u2019re also used to represent individual articles in lists of posts, such as on archive and search pages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you run any type of site that publishes new content regularly, it\u2019s vital to add a featured image to each one. Plus, since these images will do a lot to determine your site\u2019s visual style (and even its performance), it pays to spend some time choosing and preparing them carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n You can use anything you like for your WordPress posts\u2019 featured images. However, given how prominent they are, it\u2019s best to be strategic about how you use them. Let\u2019s look at a few of the best techniques for getting the most you can out of each featured image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t If you have a talented photographer or illustrator on your team, you can create original featured images for your blog. This is the ideal scenario, but is often hard to achieve. Not only do you need someone with both the required expertise and time \u2013 you\u2019ll also have to create a lot of unique images, especially if you post regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n Here are some examples of our own featured images that you can find on this very blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create this image template, we use Canva<\/a> – here’s how to use Canva for blog images<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n For most blogs, however, using third-party images is a better solution. Even here, you have a few options. You can pay for images from a stock site, or you can use Creative Commons-licensed media<\/a>. While there\u2019s nothing wrong with the first approach, the latter offers a number of benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if you do<\/em> use a Creative Commons featured image, don\u2019t forget to credit the source! This is good practice, even if it’s not strictly required for every license. A simple line at the end of the post, such as \u201cFeatured image: John Smith\u201d, will get the job done.<\/p>\n\n\n Since every post has its own featured image (that may appear in multiple locations across your site), these images make up a large proportion of your site\u2019s media. Therefore, it\u2019s worth considering how they help to represent not just your individual content, but also your site as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you can simply choose whatever image seems most appropriate for each article, a better strategy is to keep all your featured images consistent. For example, you can go with realistic images:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or, you can opt for a more abstract look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way, the style of image you lean towards should reflect your site\u2019s branding and tone \u2013 for example, serious and professional, or fun and whimsical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, make sure that if you have multiple authors writing posts, everyone is clear on the style for your featured images. Alternately, you could put one team member in charge of finding and editing a featured image for each new post. This makes it a lot easier to ensure they all look good when placed next to one another. To save time, you can create a template with Canva that you use for each post and use a plugin to edit featured images in bulk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, in the interests of consistency, you\u2019ll also want to select a standardized size for each featured image. What this is will be entirely up to you, although we\u2019d recommend choosing dimensions with a longer width than height (as this tends to look better, especially on mobile devices).<\/p>\n\n\n\n You also don\u2019t want your featured images to be too large, as this can have a negative effect on your site. This brings us to our final tip.<\/p>\n\n\n The one<\/strong> thing you really have to remember about is to make sure that all<\/em><\/strong> your blog posts have featured images. If you miss some posts, forget to add featured images to them, you’re risking your whole blog looking unprofessional and inconsistent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be particularly difficult if you’ve been working on your blog for a number of years now and your previous strategies didn’t include much focus on your featured images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, it really isn’t fun to have to look for featured images for one hundred, two hundreds, or even more posts from your past archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, there are plugins that can help you with that. For example, you can use a plugin called Auto Featured Image (free).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What featured images are (and why they matter)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"featured](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-image-section.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"image](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-added.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"featured](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:1024\/h:581\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-image-example.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"featured](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-images-on-blog.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to use featured images effectively on your WordPress site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Use images licensed by Creative Commons or under any other “free to use” license<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"featured](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-images-on-Themeisle.png\")
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2. Keep the style of your featured images consistent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"bike\"](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bike.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"graphic\"](\"https:\/\/mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com\/cb:c5QE.37290\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/graphic.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Make sure all your posts have featured images<\/h3>\n\n\n\n