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To change a WordPress post thumbnail, assign or replace the post’s Featured image in the editor, then crop the media item or adjust the image in a supported Image block. These are separate actions: selecting an image determines which file the post uses, while cropping changes how that image or its generated sizes are displayed. Your active theme ultimately determines the featured-image dimensions and visible crop.

How do I change the thumbnail on a WordPress post?

  1. Open the post in the WordPress editor.
  2. Open the settings sidebar with the gear icon if it is hidden.
  3. In the Featured image panel, choose Set featured image.
  4. Select an existing Media Library item or upload an image, then confirm the selection.
  5. Use Replace to choose a different image or Remove to clear the current one.

WordPress documentation uses both “featured image” and “post thumbnail,” but the post setting is labelled Featured image. The theme controls where that image appears, such as on the post page, an archive, a home-page card or a related-post grid.

How do I crop a WordPress featured image?

Crop from the Media Library

  1. Open Media > Library and select the image.
  2. Choose Edit Image.
  3. Drag over the area you want to keep. You can also enter an aspect ratio or pixel selection when those controls are available.
  4. Apply the crop, then save the edit.

The Media Library editor also provides rotation, horizontal and vertical flip, undo, redo and proportional scaling down. When saving, choose whether the change applies to all image sizes, only the thumbnail, or all sizes except the thumbnail. You can restore the original upload from the same editing screen.

Crop an image in the block editor

When an image is inserted in a supported Image block, select the block and choose Crop. The documented controls include freeform selection, aspect-ratio presets, zoom, rotation, straightening and flip. This workflow saves an edited version as a new image while retaining the original in the Media Library.

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Use the Media Library editor when you need to manage generated image sizes or the stored media item. Use the Image block’s crop controls when you are adjusting an image inside a particular block. The two interfaces do not necessarily affect the same sizes in the same way.

What size should a WordPress featured image be?

There is no universal featured-image dimension for every WordPress site. WordPress documents a default thumbnail size of 150 × 150 pixels, cropped as a square. That is the default thumbnail setting, not a rule that every theme’s featured-image slot should use a 150-pixel square.

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Setting or workflow What it establishes What it does not establish
Default WordPress thumbnail 150 × 150 pixels, square, in the documented default The correct size for every theme’s featured-image card
Settings > Media Thumbnail width and height; an option to crop to exact dimensions The dimensions required by a particular theme layout
Theme-registered image size A custom width, height and potentially a hard-crop position That the source upload itself must match those dimensions

Before preparing a replacement image, inspect the active theme’s documentation or its visible card and archive layouts. Theme developers can register custom sizes and define hard-crop positions such as left, center or right and top, center or bottom. The registered size and the template’s rendering method determine the final appearance.

How do WordPress thumbnail crops work?

WordPress may create several derivatives from one uploaded image. A theme can request a specific width and height and hard-crop the result, so the front-end image can look different from the uncropped source and from the crop preview in the editor. A focal subject near an edge is particularly likely to be cut off when a theme uses a centered crop.

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In Settings > Media, the thumbnail width and height fields control the documented thumbnail settings. Selecting Crop thumbnail to exact dimensions makes the thumbnail conform to those dimensions; WordPress documentation identifies PHP GD as required for this described feature. Medium and Large image settings also provide maximum width and height fields.

Preview every place the image appears

  • View the individual post.
  • Check the blog index, category and tag archives.
  • Check home-page, related-post and search-result cards if the theme uses featured images there.
  • Inspect narrow and wide screen layouts, because a responsive template may use different aspect ratios or image sizes.

If the editor looks correct but an archive card is wrong, the theme’s registered size or crop position is the likely cause rather than the original upload alone.

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Which editing workflow should I use?

Goal Best starting point Important consideration
Assign a thumbnail to a post Post editor > Settings > Featured image This selects the image; it does not by itself change the crop.
Change generated thumbnail variants Media Library > Edit Image You can target the thumbnail, other sizes or all sizes, and restore the original.
Adjust an image inside a block Image block > Crop The edited version is saved as a new image and the original remains available.
Change the site-wide thumbnail dimensions Settings > Media, where applicable Theme-registered sizes may still control front-end featured-image output.
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Why is WordPress cropping my featured image?

  • The theme requests a different aspect ratio. A card may use a registered hard-cropped size rather than the original proportions.
  • The crop position is fixed. A centered, top or side-aligned crop can remove a subject near the opposite edge.
  • You edited one size but are viewing another. The Media Library save options determine which generated sizes receive the change.
  • A block and a theme template are using different flows. An Image block edit does not guarantee that every template using the post’s Featured image will display the same framing.

Recheck the theme’s display, choose a crop that keeps the subject inside the likely focal area, and preview the front end after saving. If necessary, replace the source with a composition that tolerates the theme’s crop.

Can I edit a WordPress thumbnail without paid software?

Yes. WordPress includes the crop, scale, rotation, flip and related basic controls described above. A separate editor is optional, not required for the standard featured-image workflow. External editing is useful only when you need capabilities WordPress does not provide in your particular interface, such as advanced retouching or compositing.

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Quick troubleshooting checklist

  • Confirm that the post’s Featured image panel points to the intended Media Library item.
  • Crop from the correct context: Media Library for media-size changes, or Image block for a block-specific adjustment.
  • Check which save scope you selected: thumbnail only, all sizes, or all except thumbnail.
  • Review Settings > Media if exact thumbnail dimensions are involved.
  • Check the active theme’s registered image sizes and crop positions.
  • Preview the post and every archive or card layout that uses the featured image.
  • Restore the original in the Media Library if an edit produces an unwanted result, then crop again with a safer focal area.

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