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BetterThumbs Wordpress Plugin
The BetterThumbs Wordpress Plugin creates true thumbnails for full-size images that are resized in the post editor, instead of just letting the browser scale down the original full-size image. This translates into faster load times and lower bandwidth usage.
The Problem
Instead of creating a true thumbnail based on the new dimensions of an image resized in the post editor, Wordpress simply puts the new dimensions into the IMG tag and makes the web browser scale down the full-size image. This results in longer download times and excess bandwidth usage because the browser must still download the full-size image.
The Solution
After installing the BetterThumbs plugin, you no longer have to use the thumbnail with pre-set dimensions that Wordpress provides. Simply insert your full-size image into your post and resize it to the dimensions you prefer. When you save or publish your content, BetterThumbs will automatically create the perfect thumbnail for you.
There is no configuration for this plugin, and there are no additional steps you need to take when writing posts or pages. BetterThumbs takes care of everything transparently in the background.
I built this plugin out of frustration with the way Wordpress handles images that have been resized in the post editor. To be honest, I believe this functionality should be built into Wordpress – it just makes more sense to create true thumbnails based on the dimensions the author wants.
Download Latest Version
This plugin is no longer active. The newer versions of Wordpress handle thumbnails in a more elegant manor, so there is not much need for this plugin anymore.
Installation
- Unzip and place ‘BetterThumbs.php’ in the ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory
- Activate the ‘BetterThumbs’ plugin from within the ‘Plugins’ section of your Wordpress administration area
- That’s it – Start posting!
Additional Notes
- The BetterThumbs plugin will still work even if you aren’t using the visual post editor. Just insert the full-size image into your post, set the width and height attributes to your liking and save the post.
- The thumbnail files that this plugin produces are stored right alongside the original image file. There are no additional directory permission steps you need to take.
