Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Programmatically Download Images from URL in WordPress

WordPress is a powerful content management system that allows you to create and manage websites with ease. One of its useful features is the ability to programmatically download images from URLs. This feature can save you time and effort, especially if you need to import a large number of images. In this article, we will show you how to download images from URLs in WordPress programmatically.

Why Download Images from URLs?

Downloading images from URLs can be useful for several reasons:

• Importing images from an external source
• Updating or replacing existing images
• Backing up images
• Creating an image gallery
• Enhancing website performance by optimizing images

The PHP Function to Download Images

The PHP function we will be using to download images is file_put_contents(). This function allows you to write data to a file. In our case, we will write the contents of the URL to an image file.

The syntax for file_put_contents() is as follows:

php file_put_contents( $filename, $data );

Where:

• $filename is the name and path of the file to create.
• $data is the data to write to the file.

Downloading Images Programmatically

Now that we have the PHP function to download images, let’s see how to use it programmatically in WordPress.

First, we need to create a function in functions.php to download the image. Here’s an example:

```php function download_image( $url, $filename ) {

$ch = curl_init($url);

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 10);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 30);

$data = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

file_put_contents($filename, $data);

} ```

In this function, we use cURL to fetch the contents of the URL and file_put_contents() to save the data to a file.

Next, we need to call the function to download the image. Here’s an example:

```php $url = 'https://example.com/image.jpg'; $filename = 'wp-content/uploads/image.jpg';

download_image( $url, $filename ); ```

In this example, we specify the URL of the image and the filename where it should be saved.

Conclusion

In conclusion, downloading images from URLs programmatically in WordPress can save you time and effort. By using the file_put_contents() function and cURL, you can easily download images from external sources, update existing images, or back up your website’s images. With this knowledge, you can enhance your website’s performance by optimizing images and creating image galleries.