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To change a post or page’s featured image, open it in the WordPress editor, show the settings sidebar with the gear icon if necessary, choose the Post or Page tab, open Featured image, select Replace or Set featured image, and save or update the document.

What a featured image is—and what it is not

A featured image is attached to the post or page as document-level metadata. It does not have to appear as an Image block in the article content. You can therefore change the image associated with a post without inserting, moving, or deleting an image in the body.

How visitors see that image is controlled separately. A theme may show featured images on a blog index, home page, archive, or individual page, while another theme may omit them. In a block theme, a template can use a Post Featured Image block to decide where the current post’s image appears. Changing the assignment and changing the template are two different jobs.

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Change the featured image in the post or page editor

1. Open the document

From the WordPress dashboard, open the post or page you want to edit. This procedure applies to the document editor, not to the Site Editor’s template canvas.

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2. Show the settings sidebar

If the right-hand sidebar is hidden, select the gear or settings icon near the upper-right corner of the editor. The canvas may still show your content while the document controls remain hidden until you open this panel.

3. Select the document tab

At the top of the sidebar, choose Post for a post or Page for a page. The neighboring Block tab applies to whichever paragraph, image, or other block is selected. It is not the place to look for the document’s featured-image assignment.

4. Open Featured image

Find the Featured image section in the Post or Page settings. Select Set featured image. WordPress opens the Media Library, where you can pick an image that is already uploaded or upload a new file.

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5. Choose or upload the image

Select the desired item in the Media Library and confirm with Set featured image. If you upload a file, wait for it to finish processing before confirming. The selected image is now attached to this post or page; it is not automatically inserted into the content area.

6. Save the document

Use Save draft, Publish, or Update, depending on the document’s current status. The assignment is part of the document settings, so leaving the editor without saving can discard the change.

Replace or remove an existing featured image

Replace it

Open the same Post or Page settings and expand Featured image. Choose Replace, select another Media Library item or upload one, then save or update the document.

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Remove it

In the expanded Featured image panel, select Remove. Save or update afterward. Removing the assignment does not delete the media file from the Media Library; it only leaves this document without a featured image.

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Do not confuse replacement with editing the body image

If the article contains an Image block, changing that block’s source changes the image in the content. It does not necessarily change the post-level featured image. Use the document settings for the latter.

Set an inserted Image block as the featured image

If the image you want is already in the article, you can use WordPress’s shortcut instead of opening the Media Library again:

  1. Select the Image block in the editor.
  2. Open the block’s More options menu.
  3. Choose Set as featured image.
  4. Save or update the post or page.

This command assigns the selected media to the document. The image remains in the article unless you separately remove the Image block.

Why the image may appear—or not appear—on the front end

Assignment versus display

Seeing a thumbnail on a blog listing does not prove that the image is inserted into the post body. It may be rendered by the theme from the post’s featured-image field. Conversely, a successfully assigned image may not be visible on the public page if the active template does not render one.

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Templates and the Post Featured Image block

In the Site Editor, the Post Featured Image block is a template-level display control. It is commonly used inside a Query Loop or another template area to show the current post’s featured image across a listing. Editing that block changes where or how images are displayed by the template; it does not replace the image assigned to one individual post.

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Theme behavior varies

Available settings and front-end placement can vary by theme and plugins. Treat a missing control or different label as an installation-specific possibility, not proof that the image is unavailable. First verify the editor context and sidebar tab before changing theme or plugin settings.

Changing a page image from the Site Editor

Block themes can expose page details and template controls in the Site Editor. The exact panels depend on the theme and on whether template editing is enabled.

Page details

A page’s details sidebar may include its featured image. If it does, select the image control, choose an existing media item or upload one, and save the page.

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Content and template panels

The content panel can let you select or add a Post Featured Image block. Use this when you are editing how a template displays images across pages or posts. If you only need to change one page’s assigned image, use that page’s document details rather than altering the shared template.

When template editing is unavailable

Some themes do not expose the same Site Editor controls. Return to the normal page editor and check the Page settings sidebar for the document-level Featured image section.

Troubleshooting checklist

The Featured image section is missing

  • Open the gear/settings icon to reveal the sidebar.
  • Confirm that Post or Page, not Block, is selected.
  • Make sure you are editing an individual post or page rather than a template in the Site Editor.
  • If the section is still absent, consider whether the content type, theme, or a plugin changes the available settings. Check the theme or plugin documentation before disabling anything.

You selected an image, but the editor still shows the old one

  • Reopen the Featured image panel and verify that the new thumbnail is selected.
  • Use Replace rather than changing an unrelated Image block.
  • Save or update the document, then reload the editor.

The image appears on the blog but not inside the post editor

This is normally a difference between a post-level featured image and an image in the content canvas. Check the document’s Featured image panel; a listing can display the assigned image even when the article contains no Image block.

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The image is assigned but visitors cannot see it

Check the active theme or template. The public layout decides whether the featured image is rendered and where it appears. In a block theme, inspect the template’s Post Featured Image block and any Query Loop that displays the post.

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You changed a template instead of one post

If many posts changed at once, you were probably working in the Site Editor. Return to the individual post editor and set the image in the Post tab. Template changes affect the layout used by multiple documents.

Replace or Remove is unavailable

Expand the Featured image panel and confirm that an image is actually assigned to the current document. If the controls still differ, check the document type and whether a plugin or theme modifies the editor settings.

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A pre-publish check

  • Open the correct post or page, not a template.
  • Use the document-level Post or Page tab.
  • Confirm the intended image in the Featured image panel.
  • Save, publish, or update the document.
  • View the relevant public listing or page to verify the theme’s display behavior.

Or skip the browser setup

If you need a clean screenshot of a webpage to use as the source image, ScreenshotNeo can capture it through one request. It is a screenshot API and MCP server, not a WordPress featured-image setter, so you still upload the returned file to the Media Library and assign it using the steps above.

Before capture, ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie or consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each cleanup step can be turned off. Only clean shots are billed: bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and the response identifies the result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

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See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for authentication and options. The following examples use the supplied API call and save the returned image locally.

cURL

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

Python

import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);

After the request succeeds, upload shot.webp (or the returned PNG/JPEG) in the WordPress Media Library and select it as the featured image. ScreenshotNeo includes full-page capture, element capture by CSS selector, device presets, custom viewports, retina scale, custom CSS and JavaScript, click-before-capture actions, waits, request blocking, cookies, headers, user agents, timezone and geolocation controls, resizing, caching with a chosen TTL, signed links, asynchronous jobs with signed webhooks, bulk capture for up to 100 URLs per call, a usage API, and an OpenAPI specification. Its parameter names are compatible with those used by other screenshot APIs, which can simplify a switch.

The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card. Paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots; every feature is available on every plan. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account to get started.

Quick Recap

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Kodak PIXPRO FZ45 Digital Camera, 16MP Point & Shoot (Black)
Kodak PIXPRO FZ45 Digital Camera, 16MP Point & Shoot (Black)
16MP Sensor: Captures detailed photos with a CMOS sensor for everyday shooting; Full HD Video: Records 1080p video for travel clips, family moments, or simple vlogging
$99.99
SaleBestseller No. 2
Kodak PIXPRO FZ55-BK 16MP CMOS Sensor Camera 5X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide
Kodak PIXPRO FZ55-BK 16MP CMOS Sensor Camera 5X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide
16MP Sensor: Captures detailed photos with a CMOS sensor for everyday shooting; Full HD Video: Records 1080p video for travel clips, family moments, or simple vlogging
$139.99
Bestseller No. 4
Kodak PIXPRO FZ55-RD 16MP Camera 5X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide Angle 1080p
Kodak PIXPRO FZ55-RD 16MP Camera 5X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide Angle 1080p
16MP Sensor: Captures detailed photos with a CMOS sensor for everyday shooting; Full HD Video: Records 1080p video for travel clips, family moments, or simple vlogging
$139.99

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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