If you‘ve been blogging or running a WordPress website for a while, you know how important images are to engage your audience and illustrate your content. But finding the perfect photos or creating your own images from scratch can be a major pain.
That‘s where artificial intelligence comes in. Recently there‘s been huge progress in AI image generation models like DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. These tools can instantly create completely new images just by describing what you want in text.
In this detailed guide, we‘ll walk through how to harness these powerful AI systems to effortlessly generate images tailored for your WordPress site. With over 15 years of experience running WordPress sites, I‘ll share plenty of tips and tricks along the way.
Let‘s get started!
Contents
Why AI Image Generation is Game Changing for WordPress Sites
First let‘s talk about why AI image generation is such a big deal.
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Over 60% of WordPress users rely on images and graphics to supplement their content. Visuals make posts and pages far more engaging.
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Stock photos can be expensive. Premium image services like Shutterstock charge up to $33 per image. It adds up, especially for small businesses and creators.
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Finding the perfect photo is hard. Even with inexpensive or free stock images, you rarely get images that match your specific needs.
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Creating custom images from scratch is time consuming. Hiring designers or using complex software isn‘t realistic for most.
AI solutions like DALL-E 2 solve all of these issues! Just describe the image you want in natural language, and the AI will generate it from scratch in seconds.
The images are completely unique and tailored to your needs. You own the full rights to use them anywhere. And it‘s affordable – tools like DALL-E 2 start at just $0.02 per image.
Let‘s look at how to put these awesome AI tools to work for your WordPress site.
Method #1: Generate Images with DALL-E 2
DALL-E 2 is the leading AI system for image generation right now. The images it creates are insanely vivid and lifelike. DALL-E 2 launched in April 2022 and immediately had over 1 million users on the waitlist.
Here‘s how it works:
Step 1: Sign Up for DALL-E Account
Go to https://openai.com/dall-e-2/ and click "Get Started". Create a free account with your email.
Verification takes 1-2 days. Once approved, you get 50 free credits to generate up to 50 images. After that it‘s just $0.02 per image.
One tip is to opt-in for a paid plan right away since that skips the waitlist. You can always downgrade later.
Step 2: Describe the Image You Want
Once logged in, you‘ll see a text box to describe the image you want to generate. Be as detailed as possible.
For example, I could prompt it with:
"A happy senior couple riding bikes along a beach at sunset"
This tells DALL-E exactly what elements to include. The more creative and specific you are with the descriptions, the better results it will generate.
Step 3: Generate and Download Image Options
Hit "Generate" and DALL-E will provide 4 image variations to choose from. I simply pick my favorite option and click the download button to save the full resolution image file to my computer.
So within seconds, I have a unique image tailored precisely to my needs!
Step 4: Upload to WordPress Media Library
Now I just need to get this image file from my computer into WordPress.
Head to Media > Add New in your WP dashboard and upload the image here like any other. Once uploaded, the image is in your media library ready to insert into content.
And that‘s really all there is to it! With DALL-E 2 you can skip hunting for stock images and create an endless variety of photos tailored just for your WordPress site.
Method #2: Generate Images Inline Using Imajinn Plugin
If you want even tighter integration with WordPress, then a plugin like Imajinn is handy.
Imajinn brings the AI image generation directly into your WordPress dashboard. Here‘s how it works:
Step 1: Install and Activate Imajinn Plugin
Search for "Imajinn" and install the plugin on your WordPress site. Click "Activate" to enable it.
A free account gets you 10 image credits to start. After that you purchase credits as needed directly through the plugin.
Step 2: Go to the Imajinn Tool in WP Admin
Once activated, there will be a new "Imajinn AI" menu under Media in your WordPress dashboard. This is where the magic happens.
Step 3: Describe the Image You Want
Just like DALL-E 2, you describe the image you want generated through text prompts. You can tweak parameters like style, artist, etc.
Step 4: Generate, Preview, and Save Image
Hit "Generate" and Imajinn will provide some image options. Pick your favorite, then click "Save" to download it into your WP media library.
Step 5: Insert Into WordPress Editor
When editing a post or page, add an image block and select the image you just generated with Imajinn. Insert it into your content.
The Imajinn plugin streamlines the process with seamless integration into WordPress. You don‘t have to leave your dashboard to generate and use images.
Pros and Cons of AI Generated Images
Using AI image generation tools like DALL-E 2 and Imajinn for your WordPress site has tons of benefits:
Pros
- Create unlimited completely unique images
- Custom tailor images to match your content needs
- No worries about copyrights or attribution
- Extremely affordable at just pennies per image
- Save hours of work vs making images manually
However, there are some downsides to be aware of:
Cons
- AI can sometimes generate bizarre glitches
- Limited control compared to manual image creation
- You are reliant on the AI platform remaining available
- Computer-generated feel, lacks human touch
The technology is still early stage so the cons may improve over time. But for most use cases the pros far outweigh the limitations.
Tips for Using AI Generated Images Effectively
Here are a few expert tips for getting the most out of AI image generation:
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Use detailed descriptions – Be very specific so the AI generates exactly what you want
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Try different styles – Most tools offer various art styles to choose from
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Generate batches of images – Create a bunch of images in one go for future use
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Combine concepts – Have fun blending concepts together in new ways
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Optimize images – Run generated images through optimizers like Optimole for best quality
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Add your brand – Include your brand name, logo, or other assets in prompts
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Go high resolution – Generate at least 1080px resolution for sharper detail
With a bit of practice, you‘ll be able to create awesome AI images that are perfect for your WordPress site.
Power Up Your WordPress Site with AI Generated Images
As you can see, tools like DALL-E 2 and Imajinn make it shockingly easy to create custom images for your WordPress site using just AI.
They allow you to stop worrying about stock photos, licensing, and attribution. Instead, get creative describing your ideal images and let artificial intelligence generate the rest.
The applications are endless, whether you need images for blog posts, infographics, digital products, social media, online courses, and beyond.
So why not give it a try? With just a bit of text, you can have beautiful, original images tailored precisely for your WordPress site.
I hope this detailed guide helped explain how to get started with AI image generation in WordPress. Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to help fellow WordPressers.
