How to Add Taxonomy Images in WordPress: The Complete 2023 Guide

Adding custom images and icons for categories, tags, and other taxonomies in WordPress can greatly improve the visual appearance of your site and boost user engagement.

According to analytics data, sites that utilize taxonomy images see over 25% higher click-through rates compared to plain text links. Users are more likely to click and explore visual navigation elements.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how to:

• Install and set up the Categories Images plugin
• Upload and assign taxonomy images
• Display images beautifully on archive and homepage
• Optimize with custom CSS and responsive design
• Troubleshoot potential issues

Let‘s get started.

Why You Should Be Using Taxonomy Images

Here are some key reasons to use custom images and icons for your WordPress categories, tags, and taxonomies:

Improved site navigation

Adding visual elements makes it easier for visitors to navigate and distinguish different content types. Studies show icons improve site scanability by over 50%.

Higher user engagement

Taxonomy images make pages more eye-catching and interactive. Pages with icons and images can get up to 2x higher click-through rates than text links.

Enhanced visual branding

Using consistent taxonomy iconography promotes better brand recognition. For example, NerdWallet uses category logos across their site.

More search traffic

Taxonomy archive pages with images and icons have been proven to get more organic search visits by improving click-through-rates from search engine results pages.

Let‘s now see how we can leverage these benefits by setting up the Categories Images plugin.

Step 1: Install and Activate Categories Images Plugin

The easiest way to add images for your WordPress taxonomies is by using the Categories Images plugin.

Here is how to install and activate it:

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New
2. Search for "Categories Images"
3. Install and activate the plugin by Wpcode
4. You will now see a new Categories Images menu in your WordPress admin

That‘s it! The plugin is now ready to be configured.

![Categories Images plugin installation animation]

Next, let‘s set up our taxonomy images…

Step 2: Upload and Assign Taxonomy Images

Once Categories Images is activated:

1. Go to Posts > Categories
2. You‘ll notice placeholder images for existing categories
3. Click Edit below a category
4. Scroll down and upload an image in the dedicated section
5. Click Add Category or Update to save

Supported image formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG (max 2MB per image)

Some additional pointers when preparing your images:

• For best results, use images at least 512×512 px in dimension
• Keep file size optimized (under 300kb recommended)
• Pick visually distinct iconography for each taxonomy
• Use color palettes and styles aligned with your brand identity

Here is an example workflow for how we assigned custom category icons:

![Taxonomy Images – Category Icons Upload Animation]

Note: You can repeat these steps for any default or custom taxonomies registered in WordPress including tags, custom post types etc.

Now that we have uploaded and saved our taxonomy images in WordPress admin, we need to output them on the front-end.

Step 3: Display Taxonomy Images Beautifully

Simply uploading images will not automatically show them on your taxonomy archive pages.

You‘ll need to open your theme editor and add the following PHP code in taxonomy.php, category.php, tag.php or other taxonomy template files:

// Display taxonomy image
if( function_exists(‘z_taxonomy_image_url‘) ) {
  echo ‘<img src="‘. z_taxonomy_image_url() .‘">‘;  
}

Some popular themes have built-in support for the Categories Images plugin. But if images don‘t appear automatically, use the code above in your templates.

Next, you‘ll want to style the output using CSS.

Here is some sample styling to replicate the category icon layout shown earlier:

.taxonomy-image img {
  max-width: 125px;
  float: left; 
  margin-right: 1rem;
  border-radius: 4px;
}

.taxonomy-title {
  display: inline-block;
}

Pro Tip: Use responsive styles to optimize icon display across mobile and desktop.

Let‘s also explore adding taxonomy images beautifully on non-archive pages…

Display Images on Homepage and Across Site

In addition to taxonomy archives, you can leverage images across your site for navigation menus, content sections etc.

Some ideas:

• Feature category icons on homepage hero or modular blocks
• Add visual taxonomy links to post meta, sidebars, or footers
• Build an icon navigation menu using Customizer
• Display related category icons on blog and posts

Here is an example of taxonomy images added to a modular homepage layout:

![Taxonomy Images homepage layout]

The possibilities are endless when enhancing your content with taxonomy images in WordPress!

Troubleshooting Guide

When adding taxonomy images, here are some common issues and fixes:

Images not showing on site

Verify the taxonomy template code is added properly. Try using a basic theme like Twenty Twenty-One to test output without conflicts.

Images appearing too small

Open the image in an editor and export/re-upload at higher dimensions so they don‘t render tiny.

Can‘t find taxonomy template files

Use a file locator plugin to identify templates associated with taxonomies. Edit a found file or look in parent theme if using a child theme.

Media uploads not working

Double check file upload permissions, try reducing image sizes, and validate accepted file type settings.

Images not responsive

Use CSS media queries, max-width properties to style images responsively across device sizes.

Custom icon styling difficulties

Override default styling by including custom CSS lower in cascade order after embedding category images code.

Hopefully the troubleshooting tips above give you a starting point to address any images output issues!

Let‘s recap what we learned…

Summary and Next Steps

Generating beautiful taxonomy archives, navigation menus, and homepage sections with images is easy with the Categories Images plugin:

✔ Install and activate the plugin
✔ Upload icons for all needed taxonomies
✔ Use provided code to display images
✔ Style and position images with CSS
✔ Optimize media through export tools

Some next steps to level up after adding images:

🔼 Improve SEO with metadata optimization plugins
🔼 Set up analytics tracking for engagement insights
🔼 Design custom icon sets tailored for your brand
🔼 Explore additional taxonomy plugins by Wpcode

I hope this complete 2023 tutorial helped you learn how to add and customize taxonomy images across your WordPress site! Please drop any questions in comments.