Until a few years ago, a major portion of the screen space of several business and personal websites was limited to just simple plain text. However, that’s not the case anymore, as website developers and designers have realized that devoting a fair amount of website screen space for media files can do wonders for their business. As a result, the screen space of most of the newly launched websites is equipped with interactive videos, images, and a combination of different media files.

Website developers often use media inserts in websites for the sole purpose of breaking up long paragraphs of texts. In addition, most professional web developers and designers fill up the entire screen space of music, photography, and portfolio websites with media files. Expert web developers follow such a practice because they are aware that sites filled with captivating media contents do possess the unique ability to attract viewers.

As you would probably know, the media files that you create on WordPress are automatically stored in the media library. The good news is that you will be able to access the files whenever you want from the media library, but there is a risk of your media library getting quickly disorganized. This issue is commonly faced by web designers and developers who heavily rely on media files to fill the screen space of websites. This is where WordPress media library management plugins can be of great help to you.

These handy media library management plugins enable web developers and designers to manage the media files at the back end with the utmost ease. For instance, these plugins allow developers to easily organize, categorize, and even delete media files as they please. Most web designers will surely be familiar with WordPress plugins such as WordPress External Media Grabber and Remote Media Libraries, but these plugins are exclusively dedicated for the purpose of pulling media files from external resources. This means that these plugins cannot be used to manage the WordPress media library.

Free WordPress Plugins

Fortunately, you can find multiple numbers of free yet efficient plugins in the WordPress plugin repository, which can be used to neatly organize media files and make them searchable. These plugins can be used to categorize both new and old media files on WordPress, and they will also help developers to easily sort media files into different categories. Some of the best and most popular free WordPress plugins that web designers and developers should give a try are the following.

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders is undoubtedly one of the best plugins available to customers when it comes to media files management. The smooth operation and user-friendly design of this WordPress plugin enable developers to easily sort media files. Users who install this plugin will be able to transfer thousands of media files into categories or folders, drag and drop to rearrange folders, and even move files without wasting a lot of time.

The toolbar on the left of this WordPress plugin helps you to easily control files and folders. Moreover, you will even be able to create new folders, delete existing files, and rename them with just a single click. The folder hierarchical view is another useful feature that comes with this plugin, as it can be used to quickly select a certain folder or file.

The best thing about FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders plugin is that it is supported by different themes including WPML and Woocommerce. In addition, this WordPress plugin supports multiple languages such as Chinese, English, and Spanish. Pro and free versions of this plugin are available to users, but it is best to consider your personal preference and requirements before settling for a specific version of FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders plugin.

Enhanced Media Library

Several web developers and designers love to work with Enhanced Media Library because the features of this WordPress plugin are designed in such a way to work exactly similar to a native WordPress function. This plugin automatically creates media categories once it is activated, which allows users to easily filter images through the WordPress admin option. Another interesting thing to note is that this plugin makes it possible to assign and create multiple numbers of categories to the media library.

Moreover, developers who use this WordPress plugin will even be able to assign existing tags and categories to media files. Website designers also enjoy the luxury of categories new and existing files during the upload process, which is one of the major reasons why Enhanced Media Library plugin is immensely popular among both website developers and designers.

Enhanced Media Library plugin users will be able to create video playlists, audio, and galleries with the shortcodes. Even though this plugin is compatible with most image compression, lightbox, and gallery plugins, it remains incompatible with several plugins that are mainly used for categorizing media files. This WordPress plugin is the ideal choice for developers who have to manage tons of media files. This is because users will be able to select multiple media files with just a single click when they are using this plugin.

Media Library Assistant

Media Library Assistant WordPress plugin is equipped with several shortcodes that can be used to organize, sort, and display the media files. The advanced gallery shortcode that comes with this plugin can be used to add media files to WordPress posts. Another handy feature in the Media Library Assistant plugin is the quick edit feature which enables developers to edit, remove, and add taxonomies in bulk. The inclusion of image captions, alt text, and slug in this plugin has considerably improved the WordPress media search feature capabilities.

The best thing about this WordPress plugin is that it offers control to users over content, markup, and style of each gallery by using markup and style templates. This excellent plugin is also capable of providing information regarding the size, location, and dimensions of different media files. Media Library Assistant plugin often incorporates the use of EXIF and other metadata to determine where and when the media files were created. Since the plugin is integrated with Jetpack and other popular plugins, developers will be able to add special effects, thumbnails, and slideshows to their gallery.

Force Regenerate Thumbnails

Users who are searching for a plugin that lets them resize images in their media library to desired dimensions would instantly fall in love with the Force Regenerate Thumbnails plugin. When you upload a new image to your page or post, different sizes of the image are generated and stored by WordPress in the media library. This enables you to select the perfect dimension that suits your site or page, which will, in turn, reduce loading time.

In some cases, developers are forced to alter the dimensions of existing images on their page or site to make them look good on a new theme or for other reasons. However, manually resizing these images is actually a tough and time-consuming process, which is why it is best to use the Force Regenerate Thumbnails plugin. This efficient plugin helps you by automatically deleting images and replacing them with new ones with desired dimensions.

Media File Renamer

Several beginners often fail to realize that assigning names to media files and images can do wonders for their SEO marketing strategy. For instance, optimizing images by adding alt tags will surely help them to gain a better rank in the search engine results page of Google and other search engines. The Media File Renamer plugin renames images on the basis of their titles and automatically updates information about them on a regular basis.

The lock and unlock icons in the Media File Renamer plugin can be used to turn automatic renaming on and off. Users will also be able to rename all the files in their media library with the help of the dashboard in the media of this WordPress plugin. If you wish to manually rename the images on your own, then you will have to download the pro version of the Media File Renamer plugin.

Media Library Categories

The ability to use and add taxonomies to the media library is available with the Media Library Categories plugin. Users will be easily able to select a category that is perfect for their page from the dropdown of categories found in the media library. What makes Media Library Categories unique from other plugins is that bulk editing of categories is possible with this plugin. This implies that users will be easily and quickly able to alter the categories of existing media files through this plugin.

Media Library Categories use the exact same categories as the pages and posts in WordPress by default, but you will be able to use different categories as per your requirements. One of the shortcodes that are included in this plugin allows users to display images in a gallery format, which will surely grab the attention of website visitors.

Enable Media Replace

Enable Media Replace plugin was designed for the sole purpose of replacing an existing image or media file with a new one. Users will not have to delete, rename, or re-upload media files if they are using this plugin. The Media ‘Edit View’ and Replace Media options are used to replace the existing media files. All you need to do is to simply upload a new image and the plugin will automatically replace the existing one

The newly uploaded file will not just replace the existing file, but it will also automatically retain its original file name. However, you do enjoy the luxury of assigning a new name to the recently uploaded file. The date and time at which you have made modifications to these files can also be obtained by using the shortcodes in this WordPress plugin. Developers who need to replace or update multiple numbers of images should certainly use the Enable Media Replace plugin.

WP Media Category Management

WP Media Category Management plugin offers support to categories for images and media files by using an efficient media category custom taxonomy. Website developers and other users will be able to change categories by simply toggling on the media list page view. Another important point you need to remember is that this WordPress plugin support media taxonomies and post tags.

Another added advantage of using this plugin is that you will be able to gain control of the media categories through the admin option. Developers who have to filter media files in their library to both grid and list views should also consider installing this plugin because the custom taxonomy feature allows you to do that with the utmost ease.

Media File Manager

Website developers and designers love to work with the Media File Manager plugin because it lets them create subdirectories in the upload category and even add new files. This excellent plugin is also capable of making modifications to the URLs in the database. The innovative selection option that has been added to the post edit screen enables users to insert media files from the subfolders.

A fascinating attribute of this WordPress plugin is that it lets users preview images and other media files. In addition to that, developers who use the Media File Manager plugin will be able to change and create directories. In fact, they could even move files from one directory to another and rename them if necessary.

Premium WordPress Plugins

Most website developers and designers use free WordPress plugins usually to sort and categorize media files. However, users who wish to do a lot more than that will need to download and install premium WordPress plugins. Some of the best Premium WordPress plugins that are used to create galleries with tags, reorder files, and move files into different folders are as follows.

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders

Several website developers and designers often complain that they find it really hard to manage videos, images, and other documents on their WordPress page. If you are struggling with such an issue, then it is best to use the premium version of the FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders, as it will help you to solve the issue. This excellent plugin that was developed by the Ninja team makes managing media files a fairly simple task.

The smart context menu and simple user interface will allow you to quickly transfer files into different folders. In addition, developers who use the premium version of FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders plugin can delete, rename, and create folders in the exact same way as they would do on a computer.

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders WordPress plugin is also compatible with some of the most widely used plugins including Woocommerce, which is one of the famous e-commerce plugins available to users. This excellent plugin is the perfect choice for users who are running online stores thanks to its highly customizable features and user-friendly UI.

WP Media Folder

Users who wish to navigate through the media library of their WordPress site in the same way as they navigate through a desktop computer should definitely install the WP Media Folder plugin. The ability to easily drag and drop files into subfolders and folders will help you to save plenty of your valuable time. Moreover, you will even be able to navigate, filter, and create folders in a matter of a few seconds if you are using this plugin.

It is significant to remember that the WP Media Folder plugin actually relies on the native WordPress media library. This means that users who uninstall this plugin do not face the risk of losing any media content. In fact, moving files from one destination to another is also simple because the links will remain unaltered no matter what. This plugin is compatible with a number of plugins, which rely on the WordPress media library including Woocommerce.

WordPress Real Media Library

WordPress Real Media Library plugin is generally used for the sole purpose of organizing images and other media files into folders and categories. Users will be able to delete, rename, create, and reorder files at a rapid pace when they are using this excellent WordPress plugin. You will also be able to create shortcuts to locate files easily and quickly.

WordPress Real Media Library offers support to three different types of folders, normal folder, collection folder, and gallery folder. As the name implies, the normal folder contains different types of files except images while the gallery folder will have only images. Finally, the collection folder does not have any files, but they contain gallery data, which can be used for creating a visual gallery.

Conclusion

Digital images take up a considerable amount of the screen space of most WordPress websites these days. So, you should find a way to properly organize the media library, as it will retrieve images a lot faster. It is evident that WordPress’ media library functions have significantly improved over the years, but we highly recommend you to use the above-mentioned WordPress plugins, as they can do a lot more than the media library functions in WordPress.

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