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How to Embed an Animated GIF in WordPress

If your animated GIFs aren't animated when you embed them in a Wordpress post, there's a simple fix.

gopro-hero5-distortion-correction-in-lightroom

Categories: Wordpress for Photographers
Tags: Wordpress tricks
Last updated about 8 months ago // Originally published about 4 years ago

Animated GIFs aren’t just about memes. They can also be very handy for illustrating actions on a screen for a software tutorial or for comparing before and after shots. (I use Screenflow for creating them, but there are a lot of good apps that can also create screencast GIFs.)

But whether you’re trying to embed a gif of the pop culture meme du jour or a technical how-to guide, there’s a simple trick in WordPress to get your animated GIF to work.

The problem comes down to what WordPress does with images when you upload them to the Media Library. When you hit the Upload button, WordPress adds the image to its database and creates different-sized thumbnails for use in various parts of the site. Those are the ones that you can find in the Media Settings panel or any custom ones you’ve set up.

But the resized thumbnails are always JPG still images. If you upload a GIF, WordPress will create resized JPG thumbnails, not resized GIF thumbnails. So if you embed one of those resized versions in your post you’ll end up with, well, a still image.

All you need to do to fix it is to make sure that you don’t use one of the resized thumbnails but instead use the original GIF file you uploaded. In WordPress, that’s known as the “Full Size” version. So when you’re choosing the image to embed, go to the options to the bottom right and make sure to choose “Full Size” from the list.

How to Embed an Animated GIF in WordPress

Your list might look a bit different–I’ve added some custom thumbnails sizes. But the Full Size option is baked into WordPress.

It’s one of those things that’s incredibly simple when you know it but can create frustration if you don’t.

Using a Plugin

While it’s easy enough to embed GIFs without a plugin, if you prefer to use a plugin to insert GIFs from the Giphy service, you can. The most popular one is GiphyPress.

It adds a new button to the post editor and helps you discover new GIFs to use from the Giphy website. But it’s tied in tightly to their site, and it’s not designed for directly uploading your own GIFs like the screencast GIF above.

By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on June 5, 2020

Categories: Wordpress for Photographers
Tags: Wordpress tricks

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News & Deals

With the holidays fast approaching, there’s some great deals on photography gear and services available. I’ve put together a roundup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 Photography Deals. It’s a running list as new deals are announced, so be sure to check back.

Canon announces new EOS Rebel T8i DSLR. Canon has announced their new T8i DSLR. 24MP APS-C cropped CMOS sensor, 4K24 video, and updated image processing and detection systems. It’s available for preorder from B&H Photo.

New Firmware for the Ricoh GR III. Ricoh has release firmware v1.31 for the GR III. Release notes are: “Corrected — When shooting with the multiple exposure, in rare cases the live view may not display correctly. Improved stability for general performance.” You can download it here.

New Canon 1D X Mark III Pro DSLR Announced. Canon has announced their new flagship model of pro DSLR, the 1D X Mark III. They’re sticking with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, but it’s a new and improved version and boasts an incredible native ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 102400 and an extended range that goes up to a jaw-dropping ISO 819200. With revamped autofocus, a new image processor, and all sorts of other bells and whistles, it’s no wonder that Canon is billing it as “The Ultimate EOS.”

New Manfrotto Pro Rugged Memory Cards. Manfrotto, an Italian probably best known for their tripods and studio accessories, has launched a new Pro Rugged range of high-end SD, microSD, and CompactFlash cards. While they don’t have a huge selection of sizes and speeds, the cards are aiming for very fast cards that can put up with rugged demands. For instance, they claim that their V90 rated SD cards can withstand three times the force (20kg / 45 lbs) of a regular SD card. I’ve ordered some to run through my speed tests.

New Sony Alpha a7 firmware released. A firmware update for the Sony a7R IV now lets you control external Sony flashes from the camera’s own menu system. Up to 15 flashes in five groups can be controlled via the camera. It also applies to the a7R III and a7 III.

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Comments

  1. Christopher Eldridge says

    August 28, 2017 at 8:30 am

    HI. In my version of WordPress, the option to choose the size of the uploaded file is not given. Is that because I am using the free version of WordPress? And if so, which version must I use in order to have the capability of using animated GIFs on my blog?
    Thanks
    Chris

    Reply
    • David says

      August 28, 2017 at 9:45 am

      It’s hard to know exactly where the issue with without specifics of the setup, but if you’re using the free version on WordPress.com, I suspect you won’t have any control over upload sizes but don’t personally use it so can’t say for sure. If you’re using a self-hosted version from WordPress.org, the upload size (and filetypes) can be set in the site’s configuration. Exactly how to do that depends a bit on whether you’re using a single standalone site or multisite. It can also depend on whether you’re using one that you have full admin control over or a managed host. And inside WordPress isn’t the only place where upload sizes and filetypes can be set. The server’s configuration also has a say, as does things like PHP config.

      Reply
  2. Jenna says

    July 18, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    Hi, not sure if you know the answer to this, but I am trying to add a Boomerang file to my WordPress post and it will not let me add it because it is a .mov. I am new to all of this so I’m not sure if there is a way I can fix this?

    Reply
  3. Daniela Ferreira says

    July 16, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    Thank you for the help!!!!

    Reply
  4. Ryan says

    May 20, 2017 at 12:53 pm

    Love finding the answers to my problems. Full-size worked like a charm! Thanks!!

    Reply
    • David says

      May 20, 2017 at 2:30 pm

      Glad it worked for you!

      Reply
  5. Ahana says

    May 6, 2017 at 7:22 am

    my gif is not playing in loop? is it because of the size or is there something else I need to do

    Reply
    • David says

      May 6, 2017 at 2:27 pm

      When GIFs are created one of the settings is whether or not to loop. If you didn’t create it, the creator likely turned looping off. If you created it, your creation app should have it as an option when you export or save the GIF. I’m not aware off-hand of a way to override that for playback.

      Reply
  6. Ralu says

    March 29, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    thx! so simple!

    Reply
  7. Jose says

    March 16, 2017 at 9:34 am

    thanks a lot, was trying to figure out why I was seeing a static image, your tip worked perfectly!

    Reply
    • David says

      March 16, 2017 at 4:06 pm

      Yes, that’s precisely the issue that had me stumped at first.

      Reply
  8. Moon says

    November 3, 2016 at 1:25 am

    Thank you! This is really helpful! I’ll try out the trick on one of my upcoming post! :)

    Reply

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I take photos. I travel. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between.

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