How to Add Animated GIFs in WordPress

You would like to add a few animated GIFs on your WordPress website? However, sometimes after adding an animated GIF, WordPress loses the animation and it appears as a plain static image. It is totally not what we need. In this article, I will show you how to add animated GIFs in WordPress in a proper way.

Is that interesting for you to know why do Animated GIFs are becoming a static Image in WordPress?

WordPress usually comes with an easy to use media uploader which allows you to add images to your WordPress posts or pages. When you upload an image using the media uploader, WordPress automatically creates several copies of that image in different sizes.

There are three default WordPress image sizes: thumbnail, medium, and large. It also keeps your original image in full size.

When creating new image sizes for animated GIFs, WordPress ends up saving only the first frame of the GIF.

Now if you add any of those image sizes into your post or page, they will be static GIF images with no animation.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how to properly add animated GIFs in WordPress without losing animation.

Adding Animated GIFs in WordPress

First, you need to edit the post or page where you want to add the animated GIF and click on the Add Media button.

This will bring up the WordPress media uploader popup. You need to click on the upload files button and select the animated GIF file from your computer to upload it.

After uploading the file, select the ‘full size’ under the ‘Attachment Display Settings’ section on the right.

After that click on the ‘Insert into’ button to continue.

WordPress will now insert your animated GIF in the post editor.

This full-size image is the original animated GIF you uploaded to WordPress. You will be able to see the animation right away in the visual editor.

You can now continue editing your page or save to preview it.

Bonus Tips for Using Animated GIFs in WordPress

Animated GIF images are usually larger in file size than other image files. That’s because they contain several compressed images used as frames to create the animation.

Adding too many GIF images on a WordPress page can slow down your website. Check the WP guide on how to improve WordPress speed and performance.

If you use Giphy to find animated GIFs, then you may find the Giphypress plugin to be very useful. It allows you to search the Giphy database from your WordPress admin area and add GIFs without leaving your site.

And good luck with your work!