Have you come across the word Featured Image many times and wondering what it is?
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What is Featured Image in WordPress?
Also known as a post thumbnail, featured image is an option in WordPress which allows you to set an image as the main image for posts, pages and custom post types. This image shows before the post title on listing pages such as homepage, archives and search pages. It is also featured on the top of the post depending on the theme.
Steps to set a Featured Image on your posts or pages
- Create a new post or open an existing post for which you want to set the featured image in the WordPress editor.
- On the right hand side you will see a Featured Image option. Click on the Set featured image button.
- Now you can either upload a new image or choose from the existing ones from the Media Library.
- Once done you will now see the selected image in the Featured Image section.
You can also easily replace or remove the existing featured image by clicking the appropriate button below the featured image.
Importance of Featured Image in WordPress
Featured Image plays an important role in increasing the engagement with your website’s content. A good featured image can compel a visitor to check out what the post is about. It also helps showcase your website as authoritative.
Images play a vital role in displaying the content in a concise manner. Similarly a featured image gives a glimpse of the article. Try to imagine a post without any title image and think if you would be interested in clicking it?
One more advantage of featured image is they allow you to boost your website’s SEO by allowing you to add alt and caption text to the images. This increases your chances of ranking in the Google Image results and increasing your website visitors.
In The End
Featured Image is one of the most important factors that play a vital role in increasing engagement with your content. Also, it is necessary to set a featured image that is good. Choosing an unattractive featured image will have the opposite effect.