Day: June 18, 2021

WordPress Media Library is a library of all your previously uploaded WordPress media, including images, videos, and audio files. You can view, edit, and delete your blog`s media files here and toggle between the ListView and the Grid View.

The WordPress Media Library not loading correctly is a common issue occurring among users. Some simple steps can help resolve it. This guide here will serve as a solution on how to troubleshoot this issue, even for someone who isn`t quite familiar with the technicalities of WordPress.

What happens when the WordPress Media Library doesn`t load?

When the WordPress Media Library does not load, you might see greyed or blank thumbnails when accessing your Media Library. This can cause inconvenience as you cannot find the image you wish to work with.

Or it could so happen that your Media Library loads only partially or displays an error message or keeps buffering, not loading any result.If you face any of these issues, then following the below-mentioned steps will most likely resolve it.

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What causes the Media Library to not load properly?

Media Library not loading properly can be due to multiple reasons like incompatible plugins or themes, not using the latest version of WordPress, wrongly set file permissions, occurring on a specific browser or operating system. In a rare case scenario, it could also be due to database corruption.

Troubleshooting WordPress Media Library Not Loading issue:

This guide will take you through a step-by-step process of fixing the issue for each cause, starting with the most basic ones. After each step, verify whether your Media Library works as before. If so, consider your issue resolved, and feel free to discontinue the further steps.

Before you tread further, it is always safer to have a backup of your WordPress website, including your core files, plugins, themes, and database.

1. Check WordPress Updates:

Go to Dashboard > Updates on your WordPress, check if any updates are available, and whether the plugins and themes you are using are up to date. If not, update them first and then check whether the Media Library loads and upload an image to check the same. If this didn`t fix the issue, then move to the next step.

If you are on the latest version of WordPress, then try re-installing it. It could happen that something might have gone amiss the last time you updated it. After successful re-installation, check to see the Media Library, and if the issue persists, move to the next step.

2. Check plugin compatibility:

It is likely that your Media Library is not loading correctly due to an incompatibility with one of your plugins. To check whether this is the cause, follow these steps.

Go to the WordPress admin dashboard. In the Plugins section, select All plugins, and from the Bulk Actions dropdown, choose Deactivate. Also, clear the cache memory if you are using a caching plugin.

Now, check whether your Media Library loads correctly. If it does, then there is an issue with one of your plugins. To find out which one, you will have to go through the tiresome, but the only way to figure it out by activating one plugin at a time and checking the Media Library until you find a plugin that breaks it.

(Pro-tip: The last plugin you installed is likely to be the one causing the disruption.)

Once you have figured that out, find an alternative plugin for the same functionality. It is recommended to write to the author of that plugin to fix the issue. Also, using plugins that get updated every developer cycle.If your Media Library doesn`t load correctly after deactivating all plugins, you can be assured it is not the plugins causing this error.

3. Check theme compatibility:

To check whether your active theme is causing the issue, you need to activate another theme temporarily. If the Media Library loads appropriately after this, we can conclude that the current theme is causing trouble.

It would help to find an alternative theme to work with for now. Again it is advisable to write to the theme developers about your issue for it to get resolved. If the problem persists, then the active theme isn`t something causing the trouble. 

3. Image Hotlinking:

When images on your website are hosted on an external hosting platform, it is called image hotlinking. It is always safe and preferable to seek permission, credit the owner, store the image on your site`s server, and then use the image. Although most hosting providers offer hotlinking protection, this could be one of the reasons causing the issue. 

4. Using WordPress Media Library Folder:

Everything, when organized, becomes easy to go through. WordPress media library folder keeps all the files sorted hierarchically, helping to find any folder when required, and loading one at a time, decreasing the load on the media library.

5. Miscellaneous causes

Try working on a different web browser and see if the issue persists. If you are unable to replicate the issue there, then it is just browser-specific. If the Media Library still doesn`t load, try to replicate it on another system or maybe your mobile phone. If it works there, then the issue can be said to be OS-specific.

If any of these solutions didn`t work for you, there`s a possibility that your database might be corrupted. Restore your database to a point where your Media Library loaded just fine, and you will be good to go.

We hope you could troubleshoot the Media Library not loading issue without much trouble with this thorough guide.