Back to Support Content and Media Blocks Image Block

Image Block

Use the Image block to insert an image onto your page or post. This guide describes how to insert an image and use all the available settings to control how the image appears.

Video Tutorial

Add the Image Block

To add the Image block, click the + Block Inserter icon and search for “image”. Click it to add the block to the post or page.

Screen recording on how to add an image block.
Inserting an Image block using the + Block Inserter.

💡

Using your keyboard, you can also type /image on a new line and press Enter or click on the Image option in the menu to quickly add a new Image block.

How to add an image block.
Insert an Image block by typing /image on a new line.

For more information, visit our detailed instructions on adding blocks.

Insert an Image

Once you add the Image block as described in the previous section, you will be presented with three methods to select your image:

An empty image block shows the Upload, Select image, and Insert from URL option.
Options to add an image

If you drag-and-drop multiple image files into the Image block, it will automatically convert to a Gallery block.

Insert an Image from Your Phone

To add an image directly from your iPhone or Android phone, take the following steps:

  1. Add an Image block to your page or post.
  2. Click “Select Image” and then click “Your Phone” as shown below:
The select image option has been clicked, with the your phone option highlighted.
  1. Use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the popup window reading “Upload from your phone.”
    • You’ll only need to scan the QR code for the first image you insert.
    • If you don’t yet have the Jetpack app installed on your phone, you’ll be prompted to download the app and log in. You must be signed into the app with the same account you’re using to edit the page or post.
  2. Select the image to upload from your phone’s library and tap the “Add” button.
    • You can find all images you uploaded from the app in your Media.

Resize the Image

After you have added an image to the Image block, you can change the size. Click the image to reveal the resize handles that look like dots around the image. Then, click on a resize handle and drag the image to your desired size:

Resize an image by dragging its handles.

To fine-tune the size and aspect ratio of an image, jump to this section.

Image Block Toolbar

When you click on the block, a toolbar of options will appear:

Image block toolbar
Image block toolbar

The icons on the Image block toolbar, starting from the left, are:

Align Images

Use the alignment options to make the image appear on the left, the right, or in the center. Additionally, you may see options for wide width and full width, if those are supported by your theme.

Further reading: Align Images With Text

Captions

To add a caption, click on the Caption icon in the block’s toolbar to enable a caption for that image. Then, type the caption in the Add caption box below the image:

An arrow points to the caption icon in the toolbar, and a second arrow points to the spot below the image to type a caption.
Enable (1) and type (2) a caption for an image.

If you want to modify a caption that has already been added to an Image block, you can do that by clicking on the caption and either replacing or adding text.

If you have written a caption for an image in the Media library and then added the Image block, the Image block will show the caption you wrote. However, if you add a caption to the image in the Media library after adding the Image block, that caption will not appear in the Image block. In that case, you can either type the caption manually on the Image block or remove and re-add the block so that it will use the caption from the Media library.

To add a link to an image, click the link icon in the toolbar — it looks like the link of a chain:

The link icon.

You will then be presented with link options, explained below:

A text box appears where you can:

Press the arrow icon, or the return or enter key on your keyboard, to save the link. If you click the downward arrow next to that box, you can choose whether or not to have the link open in a new tab.

You may also choose to link the image to:

To remove an existing image link, click on the link icon on the toolbar and then on the “Remove link” icon:

Screenshot showing how to remove an existing image link.

Crop and Other Image Editing Tools

Click on the Crop icon in the toolbar, and a selection of editing tools will appear:

Image block editing tools showing the zoom ,aspect ratio, rotate, apply, and cancel options.

From left to right, these are:

Edits you make to your image will create a new copy of the image in the Media Library. This ensures that if the image is used elsewhere on your site, it won’t be affected. It also means you still have the original image if you need it.

Replace Image

You can replace the image on the Image block via the ReplaceSelect Image option on the block toolbar:

Replacing an image.

Image Block Settings

When you select a block, you will find additional block settings in the right sidebar. If you do not see the sidebar, you may need to click the Settings icon in the top-right corner to bring up the settings. This icon looks like a square with two uneven columns:

The settings icon in the Editor with a tooltip "Settings" below it.
Click the Settings icon to open the block settings

The Image block settings contain a Settings menu and a Styles menu. Select the corresponding button under the Image block information to open those options.

Block Settings Menu
Block Settings Menu

Alternative Text

Use the Alternative Text field to describe the purpose of the image. This text is used by search engines and screen readers.

The image settings section of the Image Block settings sidebar displaying alternative text aspect ratio and image dimension options.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio is the relative size of the width and height of an image. For example, an aspect ratio of 1:2 would mean the image’s width is half the size of the image’s height.

Changing the aspect ratio to Standard - 4:3, then Classic Portrait - 2:3, showing how the image changes.

You can choose from the following common image dimensions:

When an aspect ratio other than the original is selected, the Scale option will be available. Scale refers to how your image fits within your selected aspect ratio with the following options:

Width and Height

Set a custom width and height by typing pixel values in the Width and Height boxes. If you resize the image using the drag handles, these boxes will automatically update with the image’s new width and height. Erase the numbers from these boxes to return the image to the automatic size.

Image size controls in the block settings
Image width and height controls in the block settings

Resolution

In the Resolution box, you can select the size of the image, among Thumbnail, Medium, Large and Full Size.

Screenshot of Image block's Resolution control in the block settings.
Image Resolution control in the block settings.

Advanced

For more, visit our detailed instructions on Advanced settings.

Image Block Styles

In the block settings sidebar, click on the Styles icon to access the design settings for the block. The Styles icon is in the shape of a circle with half of the circle filled in:

An arrow points to the Styles icon that you can click to open up the block styles section.

Choose the style of the image, which can be set to:

  • Default: the image appears as you inserted it.
  • Rounded: the image appears as a circle (if your image was originally square) or a capsule/oblong shape (if your image was originally a rectangle).

Additional style settings include:

The styles section of the Image Block Settings sidebar, including filters, borders, and radius.

Was this guide helpful for you?

Not quite what you're looking for? Get Help!

Copied to clipboard!