How to Increase the Maximum File Upload Size in WordPress: An Expert Guide

With over 15 years as a professional webmaster, I‘ve seen how frustratingly low file size limits can be for WordPress users. While defaults like 2 MB or 8 MB may have been reasonable in the past, today‘s high-res content demands much bigger maximums.

Whether you want to upload large images for an online store, embed high-quality video, or install premium plugins and themes, bumping up the max file upload size in WordPress is a common need.

In this expert guide, I‘ll explain how upload limits work, when you may need to increase yours, and several easy methods to raise it.

Why You May Need Bigger Upload Limits

WordPress hosting providers usually set a default maximum file size limit. This is controlled by the upload_max_filesize PHP directive.

Typical defaults range from 2 MB to 8 MB on shared hosts, though limits from 64 MB to 256 MB are more common on managed WordPress plans.

For simple blogs with just text and small images, such limits are fine. But many websites today require much bigger files.

Here are some examples:

• High-resolution photos – A 24 megapixel image may be 7-8 MB on its own. For photography sites or ecommerce stores, you need higher limits to upload these massive pictures.

• HD video files – Users often want to embed videos directly into posts and pages. But even short 720p or 1080p clips can be 20-80 MB in size.

• Large documents – If you want to allow users to upload PDF manuals, PowerPoint/Keynote slides, Excel sheets, ZIP files, or other big docs to your site, a higher limit is crucial.

• Premium themes – Popular commercial WordPress themes like Divi come packaged as massive files, sometimes 50 MB+. Uploading these files requires adjusting your max limit.

• Membership site plugins – For sites selling courses or digital downloads, you‘ll need to install large plugins like MemberPress, WishList Member, or WooCommerce. Many exceed 10 MB.

As you can see, while 2 MB may have been sufficient ten years ago, today‘s web content demands much higher file size limits in WordPress.

Thankfully, increasing the maximum upload size is easy. Next I‘ll show you how to check your current limit, and walk through the different methods to raise it.

Checking Your Current Upload Limit in WordPress

Before making any changes, it‘s good to check what your current max upload file size limit is set at.

The easiest way to find this is to go to Media > Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Look for the Maximum upload file size text.

On this site, the limit is set at 2 MB. Now let‘s look at a few ways to increase the maximum file size.

Contact Your Hosting Provider to Increase Limit

One of the easiest ways to increase your upload limit is to contact your web hosting provider and ask them to raise it for your account.

Many hosts are willing to adjust PHP settings like upload_max_filesize through cPanel or otherwise. Just open a customer support ticket requesting the change.

Provide details on your current limit and what you need it increased to. For example:

"My current max file upload size is 2 MB. Could you please increase it to 64 MB? I need to upload large images for my site."

Most quality hosting providers will make this change very quickly. If you don‘t want to mess with code yourself, this hassle-free method is a great option.

Increase Size Limit Through cPanel (For Shared Hosting)

If your WordPress hosting includes cPanel access, you can adjust upload limits yourself without contacting support.

Navigate to cPanel > Software > MultiPHP INI Editor. Look for the upload_max_filesize setting and change it to your needed limit such as 64M, 128M, or 256M.

Click Apply to save your changes. I also recommend increasing the post_max_size and max_execution_time values for flexibility with larger uploads.

Add Code to functions.php File

For those comfortable editing code, you can use a plugin like WPCode to add PHP snippets that override the default limit.

Install WPCode and activate it. Then create a new PHP code snippet like so:

@ini_set( ‘upload_max_filesize‘ , ‘128M‘ );
@ini_set( ‘post_max_size‘, ‘128M‘);
@ini_set( ‘max_execution_time‘, ‘300‘ );

This will increase the max upload size and time limit for your WordPress site. Activate the snippet and changes take effect.

Manually Edit .htaccess File

For developers with root access to their servers, manually editing the .htaccess file is an option.

Connect via SFTP and edit the .htaccess file in the root folder of your WordPress installation. Add the following code, adjusting the 128M value as desired:

php_value upload_max_filesize 128M  
php_value post_max_size 128M
php_value max_execution_time 300
php_value max_input_time 300 

Save changes and they‘ll apply immediately. This method requires being comfortable editing configuration files.

Use a Plugin to Easily Increase Limit

If you don‘t want to mess with code, a handy plugin like WP Increase Upload Filesize can be installed.

Simply activate it, then go to Settings > Increase Upload Limit and pick your new maximum upload file size via the dropdown.

This plugin will override the default limit set by your host. It provides an easy way to raise the file size limit without any coding.

Expert Recommended Upload Limits

When increasing your site‘s file size limit, I recommend setting it high enough to accommodate your needs, but not excessively high.

Here are some general guidelines I suggest for different use cases:

• Blogs/magazines – 64-128 MB
• Photography sites – 128-256 MB
• Video sharing – 256-512 MB
• Membership sites – 128-256 MB
• eCommerce – 64-128 MB

Of course you are free to set it higher or lower to suit your site‘s needs. Just keep in mind that allowing extremely large uploads can impact server performance. Aim to find the right balance.

Final Recommendations

I hope this guide has shed some light on why you may need to increase WordPress file upload limits. The good news is doing so is quite easy in most cases.

Start by checking your current limit under Media > Add New. Determine if your needs require increasing it.

Work with your host if you prefer an easy, hands-off approach. Or use one of the code snippets to override the limit yourself.

Adjusting the upload size limit gives you more flexibility in WordPress. Let me know if you have any other questions!