WP Term Images

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WP Term Images

by John James Jacoby

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Description

Images for categories, tags, and other taxonomy terms

WP Term Images allows users to assign images to any visible category, tag, or taxonomy term using the media library, providing a customized look for their taxonomies.

Also checkout

  • Download and install using the built in WordPress plugin installer.
  • Activate in the “Plugins” area of your admin by clicking the “Activate” link.
  • No further setup or configuration is necessary.
  1. Category Images

    Category Images

  2. Edit Category Image

    Edit Category Image

  3. Choose an Image

    Choose an Image

Does this plugin depend on any others?

No. Not since WordPress 4.4.

Does this create new database tables?

No. There are no new database tables with this plugin.

Does this modify existing database tables?

No. All of WordPress’s core database tables remain untouched.

How do I get the image for a term?

With WordPress’s get_term_meta() function

// image id is stored as term meta
$image_id = get_term_meta( 7, 'image', true );

// image data stored in array, second argument is which image size to retrieve
$image_data = wp_get_attachment_image_src( $image_id, 'full' );

// image url is the first item in the array (aka 0)
$image = $image_data[0];

if ( ! empty( $image ) ) {
    echo '<img src="' . esc_url( $image ) . '" />';
}

The attachment ID is also exposed as the term’s image metadata in the
WordPress REST API. To keep it out of REST responses, return false from the
wp_term_image_show_in_rest filter.

Can I limit the taxonomies that use term images?

Yes. Filter the visible taxonomies after discovery and return only the ones
that should use the image interface:

add_filter( 'wp_term_image_allowed_taxonomies', function( $taxonomies ) {
    return array( 'category', 'post_tag' );
} );

Where can I get support?

  • Basic: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-term-images/

Where can I find documentation?

https://github.com/stuttter/wp-term-images/wiki

Simple and less intrusive

By Alvaro Gois dos Santos (alvarogois) on January 23, 2021

It’s simple and less intrusive than other plugins that do the same. It blends better with WordPress UI. It doesn’t show anything in the frontend if the correct code isn’t added to the theme, something like this I guess: 
<?php 
$taximg_id = get_queried_object()->term_id;
// image id is stored as term meta
$image_id = get_term_meta( $taximg_id, 'image', true );

// image data stored in array, second argument is which image size to retrieve
$image_data = wp_get_attachment_image_src( $image_id, 'full' );

// image url is the first item in the array (aka 0)
$image = $image_data[0];

if( $image ) {
	echo "<img src=" . $image . " class='term-image'>";
}

?>

Plugin is out of date, don't use

By joopon on May 23, 2019

Not compatible with Woocommerce 3.6.3. All taxonomies disappear.

Just what I need

By Knut Sparhell (knutsp) on May 1, 2019

Excellent! Works like a charm. Very useful for building nice term pages.

Thank you

By dimitris33 on June 2, 2017

Just tested with the latest version of WP.

Best Plugin For Uploading Term Images

By Michelle (michellereefcole) on April 29, 2017

Used this plugin to upload images for each category and child category using get_terms to display the images in a template.

Thanks!

By wellbeingtips on January 27, 2017

keep up the good job!

Awesome ! Brilliant

By Robswaimea on September 3, 2016

Awesome ! Brilliant….

Added images to custom taxonomies ->terms….
Using it to put icons on my google maps with another plugin.

Thanks very much for your work !

Works Great!

By daronspence on September 3, 2016

Plugin works as advertised. Found a small bug and @jjj was kind enough to fix it. What more could you ask for?

No magic, well written, straight to the solution

By mathieu.pellegrin on September 3, 2016

A non-bloated plugin, which unleash the potential of WordPress native “custom fields” for Terms (get_term_meta, meta queries, etc).

Simple, focused, effective

By Luis Martins (lmartins) on September 3, 2016

Im really liking the direction some plugins like this are following. Simple, bloat free and very much focused on doing something very specific and doing it well.

[2.2.0] – 2026-09-16

  • Expose image attachment IDs through term metadata in the WordPress REST API
  • Allow sites to restrict the taxonomies that use the term-image interface
  • Add enforceable WordPress and PHP compatibility coding standards

[2.1.3] – 2026-09-16

  • Require WordPress 6.4 or newer

[2.1.2] – 2026-09-14

  • Republish the verified package through corrected WordPress.org distribution automation

[2.1.1] – 2026-09-14

  • Refresh release packaging and distribution metadata

[2.1.0] – 2026-09-13

  • Preserve existing images when programmatic term updates omit the image field
  • Avoid intercepting unrelated term-meta sorting queries
  • Require PHP 7.4 and add automated regression coverage

[2.0.0] – 2019-05-30

  • Update base class

[1.0.0] – 2017-01-16

  • Stability!
  • Fix text domains
  • Simplify some JavaScript
  • Handle more JavaScript edge-cases

[0.3.1] – 2016-07-13

  • Fix regular edits

[0.3.0] – 2016-05-27

  • Fix quick-edits
  • Update WP Term Meta UI dependency to 0.1.9

[0.2.0] – 2016-01-07

  • Fix new-term form action hi-jacking
  • Update WP Term Meta UI dependency to 0.1.4

[0.1.0] – 2015-11-09

  • Initial release