How to Rename Images in WordPress After Uploading Them

Media files in WordPress and the way they are named, compressed, optimized, and used play a huge part in overall website SEO. Have you ever wanted to rename an image after you have already uploaded it to your WordPress media library?

There is a slight misconception about what we might be talking about here. Yes, WordPress allows you to easily add or rename image alt tags and create image captions. However, there is not actually a built-in way to change or rename an image file name from the default WordPress media admin area.

That being said, there is a solid rename plugin that when installed, will give you a couple of very easy ways to rename images in WordPress. Let’s take a look at why you would want or need to go about the process of changing the name of a photo.

After that, I will show you exactly how to rename images in WordPress quickly and easily.

Why Rename an Image in WordPress?

As you may know already, images play a huge part in the overall SEO of a WordPress website. Proper image optimization is always key to getting more traffic. Images are also very user-friendly and will add to the appeal of your website.

That being said, images do not work like text does when it comes to SEO. Google and other major search engines need help finding and categorizing them properly. Users also need help with location.

While you are able to add alt tags by default in the media library, you are not able to automatically rename images in WordPress once they are already uploaded. This is not ideal, as search engines and website users need proper file names in order to find images correctly.

Think of it this way:

You are adding an image of a flower, but the file name is DSC00899.png. This is not ideal, nor is it searchable. A much better alternative would be “beach-flower.png.” So, you can see how important image file names can be for SEO.

The problem is that renaming a photo file before uploading it to your media library is often forgotten. This is especially true when an image is being downloaded directly from a phone or camera. This also happens when transferring from another source.

Then, as we have talked about, once the photo is uploaded, there is no default option to rename an image or other media files within the WordPress media library.

Let’s take a look at a great rename plugin option that can help you easily rename images in WordPress.

Phoenix Media Rename

The Phoenix Media Rename plugin is a simple, lightweight, very straightforward media file renamer plugin. Simply put, this rename plugin will allow you to easily change any of your media files that are already located in your WordPress media library.

Doing this will greatly improve your overall SEO. The Phoenix Media Rename plugin is arguably the easiest way to rename images in WordPress. This tool will also help you save a lot of time, as you will not have to download images to your machine, rename the files properly, and then upload them all over again.

Note: The Phoenix Media Rename plugin does keep references between posts and media files. If this is not the case for you, then you will probably need to disable other plugins and see where the issue is.

Perhaps the biggest attraction of using this renaming photo plugin is that, from what I have found, this one is the only tool that is fully free and does not have a pro version.

The plugin does what it says without making you pay to upgrade to a more premium version with extra functions. Let’s take a look at how to install this media file renamer plugin and put it to use.

Note: Your new file names will remain intact even if you uninstall the plugin later.

Install and Activate Phoenix Media Rename

In order to start renaming images in WordPress, you first have to install and activate the Phoenix Media Rename plugin. You can do this by going to the plugins page in your WordPress admin dashboard and searching for the plugin.

Once the plugin has been installed and activated, it is ready for use. The plugin is very easy to manage even for the most novice of creators. Let’s look at the steps to take in order to access photos and rename them within your WordPress media library.

Rename Image in WordPress

If you are at this step, then you have successfully installed and activated the plugin. Now, click on Media > Library, located in the left menu area of your WordPress admin dashboard.

This will take you to your media library where you can access images and rename files.

Now, select an image that you want to use the media file renamer. Just click on it and open up the image.

Once the media file is open, scroll to the bottom right of the page and click on the “Edit more details” link.

This will bring up the actual media full-page for the file in question. You will see all the usual options available (alt text, description, caption fields). However, also notice that if you scroll to the bottom of the page, a new field titled “Filename” has been added.

Enter the new file name that you want into that field then click on the “Update” button. That’s it!

Your media file or image has now successfully been renamed in your WordPress media library. You are able to do this to all your photos without having to download them to your machine and then upload them all over again.

Rename Images in Bulk

The Phoenix Media Rename plugin also gives you the ability to rename images in WordPress in bulk. The process is pretty simple as well.

Go back to your media library and on the top left of the page, click on the list icon (if you are not already displaying your library in list format).

You will notice that on the right side of every image in the list is the “Filename” field. Simply go through all the filenames and change them down the list more quickly, without having to access the main page of every separate media file.

When you are finished, click on “Bulk Actions” on the top left of the screen, and choose the action you want to do from the dropdown menu. Then click on the “Apply” button.

That’s it! You have now successfully renamed images in bulk.

Final Thoughts

Using a solid media file renamer saves a lot of time and effort. It gives you the ability to rename an image that has already been uploaded into your WordPress media library.

This means that you don’t have to download your photos and media files to your machine, rename them, and then upload them all over again. Furthermore, the process of renaming photo files will also help you with overall image and SEO structure.

I hope this tutorial helped show you a way to easily and quickly rename an image in WordPress. Have you ever run into this problem before and not had a solution? Do you prefer a different plugin for renaming images in WordPress?