BetterThumbs Wordpress Plugin

BetterThumbs ExampleThe 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This plugin is no longer active.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

  1. Unzip and place ‘BetterThumbs.php’ in the ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory
  2. Activate the ‘BetterThumbs’ plugin from within the ‘Plugins’ section of your Wordpress administration area
  3. 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.

Comments

6 Responses to “BetterThumbs Wordpress Plugin”

  1. Dave Mallon on January 3rd, 2008 4:11 pm

    Aaron,
    This is exactly what I am looking for…but I get the following:
    Warning: getimagesize(scarpenter/wp-content/gallery/image/border2.gif) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/iknownet/public_html/scarpenter/wp-content/plugins/BetterThumbs/BetterThumbs.php on line 150

    Any thoughts?

  2. Stephen McGrath on January 29th, 2008 7:37 am

    Hi Aaron

    I get exactly the same problem, which you will be able to see on the home page. It would be also useful if we could apply the existing aspect ratio to our crops, rather than going into the code to change it with guesswork. Not sure if that is something you can add to your solution, but thought I should point it out.

    Thanks

  3. stephen on February 8th, 2008 2:14 am

    Hmmm, this seems like it is exactly what I’m looking for. A simple, no frills plugin that automagically creates thumbnails for pictures I paste into my post.

    Yet, i cant seem to get it working. I dont use the YSMGI (or whatever its called) fancy editor for posting, i just basic code view. What am I supposed to input to make this plugin work?

    The site is http://www.jiggyboo.net (though i’ve disabled the plugin until I can figure it out).

  4. Åsmund on March 25th, 2008 9:02 am

    This plugin conflicts with GDM2. When both are active, I get this error when using GDM2:

    getimagesize(/var/www/skjaeve.net/wp-content/uploadsve.net/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=601&g2_GALLERYSID=17d54d6d33617f3a37d72f264f76463f) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/skjaeve.net/wp-content/plugins/BetterThumbs/BetterThumbs.php on line 55

  5. Åsmund on March 27th, 2008 7:15 am

    Sorry, not GDM. I meant WPG2.

  6. neodev on May 23rd, 2008 9:09 am

    really we need this…..thank you for this plugin

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