Question 1

Offer external files for download in WooCommerce

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin also allows you to offer digital products in WooCommerce whose files are not hosted on your own server. The files can be stored, for example, at an external URL, on AWS S3, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, or any other supported external source. Preparation: Set up WooCommerce and your store running on it. Get external files: Go to Media Library > Add External Source and connect to your desired external source for your files. Import the files from there into the media library. See also: https://plugins.thomaszwirner.de/externe-dateien-in-der-mediathek/verwendung-von-externen-quellen/ As a result, the files should now be visible to you in the Media Library. Configure the Product in WooCommerce Set up a digital product in WooCommerce. See: https://woocommerce.com/document/digital-downloadable-product-handling/ Where you’re prompted to select the file, click "Select File." The Media Library will open, and you’ll now see the external files there as well. Select them to assign them to the digital product.

Question 2

Can I embed PDF files stored on AWS S3 without their URL being public?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this is possible under the following conditions: The AWS S3 bucket must be publicly accessible. In the plugin settings, the proxy must be enabled under File Types > PDF. Once these conditions are met, any file hosted on AWS S3 will be recognized as an external file and served via the proxy. The URL behind the proxy is not publicly visible.

Question 3

How can I import files from a public Google Drive?

Accepted Answer

With the WordPress plugin "External Files in the Media Library," you can add files available in a public Google Drive to your media library as external files. Here’s how to do it. First, please be mindful of the copyrights associated with the files. If necessary, contact the person who published the files on Google Drive. Even though the files are publicly available there, they are embedded in your media library as external files that are hosted locally. This is due to the access restrictions that Google Drive still enforces, even for public files. Prerequisites: While Google Drive allows access to publicly available files via a browser, it does not permit direct downloads or access via the API without an API key. Therefore, you will definitely need a Google Drive API key. In addition to the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin, you’ll also need the "External Files from Google Drive" plugin. The installation process is described below. Preparations You’ll need: A Google Drive access token. The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin contains a link that lets you quickly obtain this. The "Directory ID" of the public Google Drive. This is the alphanumeric string found in the URL of the Google Drive directory. It usually starts with “1.” Prepare your project as follows: Install and activate the “External Files” plugin in the Media Library. Then go to Media > Add External Files and click “Activate Plugin” next to “Google Drive.” Confirm the prompt. The plugin will then be installed for you. Procedure: Go to Media > Add External Files > Google Drive. Enter your Google Drive access token in the field here. Enter the directory ID in the field below. Click "View." You can then import the files from that directory into your media library. By the way, you can also access your own Google Drive in the same way to integrate files from there into your website. External Files in the Google Drive Media Library Feel free to use the synchronization or export features to and from Google Drive, which are enabled by the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin.

Question 4

I want to upload .tar.gz files—how do I do that?

Accepted Answer

WordPress does not allow files with the .gz and .tar.gz extensions. This is primarily for security reasons, as these files are unfortunately often used for attacks or to inject malware. With the "External Files for the Media Library" plugin, however, you can still upload them to WordPress—as described here. Enable the setting Go to Settings > External Files for the Media Library. Select the "Services" tab and then "ZIP." There you’ll find a checkbox to enable support for .tar.gz. Check it and save the settings. Import files Once the checkbox is selected, you can add files with the .gz and .tar.gz extensions to your media library using any method. Opening and Extracting Files It’s also possible to save these files in the library and then open them to extract individual files from them. To do this, simply open the media library and click "Open File" next to your file. From there, you can also extract the file and save all the files it contains to the media library. They will be saved as external files but are stored locally on your hosting server.

Question 5

How was the plugin created?

Accepted Answer

The "Next Meetup Alert" plugin was created during the WordPress Meetup in Leipzig on October 1, 2024, as part of a presentation on plugin development. It was developed into version 1.0 within 75 minutes, uploaded to the WordPress repository, and released immediately. The video from the presentation is available on YouTube.

Question 6

Automatically populate a list with downloads

Accepted Answer

By combining two plugins I developed, you can display a download list on your own website that is maintained via FTP, without having to use the backend regularly. In addition to FTP, all other sources supported by the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin would, of course, also be possible. By synchronizing files from external sources, this plugin offers a powerful tool for this use case. Requirements You’ll need: The "Download List with Icons" plugin. The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin. FTP access to the location where you store your files. A project with a block theme or a classic theme that supports blocks. Preparations Install the two plugins mentioned above in your WordPress installation. Make sure you have valid FTP login credentials. It’s best to test this yourself by logging in from your computer using those credentials. Procedure: The steps described here are divided into two sections: first, setting up the list; then, synchronizing the files. Configuring the Download List: In the WordPress backend, go to Media > Download Lists. Add a new list there. Choose a name that will help you find the list later. The name will not be displayed publicly. Go to the page where you want to display this list and edit it. Add a new block for the download list. On this block, click "Select Download List" and choose the list you created in Step 2. Selecting the Download List in the Block You’ll see an empty list because we haven’t assigned any files to it yet. Of course, you can test this right there and also customize the list’s formatting to your liking. Configuring Synchronization Preparation After installing "External Files in the Media Library," file synchronization is not enabled by default. To enable it, follow these steps: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Synchronization. Check the box to enable synchronization support and save this setting. Setup: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Media > Add External Files. Select "FTP" as your source. Note: Of course, you can also choose a different source here, depending on what’s available to you. In the form that appears, enter your FTP login credentials. Connect using these credentials. It will take a moment for all the data from the FTP directory to be displayed. Now click the "Save the directory as an external source" button at the top.Note: If you want to select your files from a specific subdirectory within the FTP directory, select that subdirectory on the left side first. You’ll see a confirmation that the directory has been saved as an external source. Now go to Library > Your External Sources in the backend. Here you’ll see the directory you just saved listed. Click "Configure" next to this entry in the "Synchronization" column. Here you’ll find an option to select the download list you created earlier. You’ll recognize it by the name you used. Select this list from the entry and save the settings. To test it, you can now click "Now" next to the entry in the “Synchronization” column. The plugin will connect via FTP, save the files from the FTP directory to the media library as external files, and then assign them to the download list. To enable automatic synchronization, all you need to do is set the toggle in the “Synchronization” column to “On.” FAQ Can I use this with Elementor as well? No, the description above only works with the built-in WordPress blocks. The “Download List with Icons” plugin only supports these. Can I use sources other than FTP? Yes, you can use any external source supported by the “External Files in the Media Library” plugin that allows for synchronization. Follow the steps described above, but select the source you want. Automatic synchronization isn’t working as intended—how can I stop it? You can disable synchronization at any time in the following ways: Media Library > Your external sources > Set the synchronization toggle to “Off.” Or: Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Synchronization > Uncheck the box

Question 7

Free up storage space and move files to external storage

Accepted Answer

Nothing is more frustrating than working on a really interesting website project only to find you’ve run out of storage space on your own hosting account. With the WordPress plugin "External Files in the Media Library," you can free up space and, for example, store large files elsewhere. Preliminary Notes: While distributing files to other storage locations may seem appealing at first, there are several factors to consider: When offloading images, keep in mind that they may no longer be optimized for display on the front end. Plugins like EWWW Image Optimizer cannot access these files. Be sure to follow the guidelines applicable in your country regarding the integration of external sources into websites (such as the GDPR in Germany). If necessary, you may need to serve these files via the proxy included in the system, which in turn requires storage space on your hosting account. However, this is not possible with all file types, though it can be configured on a per-file-type basis. For these reasons, I would recommend offloading only very large files, such as: PDF files of enormous size, PowerPoint presentations, and ZIP files. Requirements: To offload files, you simply need to install and activate the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin. Of course, you’ll also need external storage space where you want to host the files. This storage space must be publicly accessible, and you must have the login credentials for it. Setup: Enable Export in the Plugin Go to Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Export. Check the box here to enable the export functions. Set Up an External Source To save files elsewhere, you first need an external source. You must configure this source for export. If you haven’t set up an external source yet, proceed as follows: Go to Media Library > Add External Files. Select the source where you want to move files. Enter the access credentials for this source in the form that appears. Once the connection has been established, click "Save the directory to your external sources" at the top. You’ll see a confirmation message once it has been saved. Then go to Library > Your External Sources. Here you’ll find the external directory you just created. Click "On" in the "Export" column. This activates this source for export. Usage: Once the external source has been activated for export as described above, you have the following options. Upload new files: Any file uploaded to the Media Library will be exported to the external source and then stored as an external file in the Media Library. Export existing files individually: You can use the “Export File” option for any file already in the Media Library. This exports it to the external source and converts it into an external file in the media library. Export multiple files Go to the media library and view the list as a table. Check the boxes on the left to select the files you want to export. Then select the “Export Files” action at the top and confirm the change. This exports the selected files to the external source and converts each one into an external file in the media library. FAQ Can I use multiple external sources for exporting? Yes, you can. The advantage of this is that the files can automatically be stored in multiple external sources. However, you’ll only be able to use one of them as the external source for the file in the Media Library. The plugin automatically sets the first external source you activate as the default. You can change this setting at any time in two places: Media Library > Your External Sources > Configure Export > Check the box for "Primary Source." Or: Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Export > Set the external source as the primary source. Can I also limit which files are exported? Yes, the following tools are available for this: Export by Date, Export by Size. You can enable both under Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Export. You can then set the limits either globally or per external source. What happens if I disable the export? The files remain in the media library as well as on your website. They will still be stored in the external source. Only the export of new files will no longer be possible. What happens if I delete the external source I’m using as an export destination? The same thing happens as when you disable the export: the files remain in the media library and on the website.

Question 8

Can I restrict other users from storing external files?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin comes with a wide range of permissions. You can find these in your WordPress dashboard under Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Permissions. They are assigned based on user roles, as used by WordPress. However, you can also restrict general access for individual users. For example, you can configure the plugin so that only administrators have access to its features. Alternatively, you can grant access to all roles but limit their use to FTP only.

Question 9

Which APIs help to simplify texts on my website?

Accepted Answer

The plugin currently supports the following APIs: Capito, ChatGPT, and SUMM AI. To use these APIs, you'll need access credentials for them. If you have any questions, please contact the respective support teams, whose links are provided in the plugin.

Question 10

Installation of „Product Swatches Light“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Product Swatches Light." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add New Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 11

Installation of „Play Audio Once“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Play Audio Once." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add New" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 12

Can I also find files that are not linked?

Accepted Answer

No, this is not possible with this plugin. Reason: there are many variants on which you can assign files from the media library to WordPress content. The plugin cannot fully capture these, so filtering for such files is not possible. However, there are other plugins that try to make this possible: https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/media-cleaner/

Question 13

Where does the Meetup data come from?

Accepted Answer

The plugin uses the functions of WordPress to load Meetup event data via API from wordpress.org.

Question 14

Installation of „Personio Integration“

Accepted Answer

Purchase the Plugin: Buy a license for the plugin at https://laolaweb.com/plugins/personio-wordpress-plugin/pro-version-kaufen/. You’ll immediately receive an email with the download link for the setup file and the corresponding license key. Installation Prerequisites You’ll need the setup file for the plugin, for which you received a download link via email. The free Personio Integration Light plugin must be installed and activated. Manual Installation Download the setup file using the download link you received via email. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add New" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/" directory. Activate the plugin via the „Plugins“ menu in WordPress. Enter License After installing and activating the plugin, you must enter the license key you received to be able to use the plugin to its full extent. To do this, go to Positions > License in the menu on the left. Entering the license for the commercial "Personio Integration" plugin"

Question 15

How can I submit a support request?

Accepted Answer

If you have any questions about the commercial WordPress plugin "Personio Integration," feel free to use the support request form included in the plugin. You’ll find it under Jobs > Get Help. Support Request Form for the "Personio Integration" WordPress Plugin Your request will be routed to a support system accessible to all colleagues involved in the project. Since the request contains a wealth of information about your project, we can respond to your question more quickly and effectively. Notes: Creating a user to review the support request in your project is optional. If you are not using the commercial plugin but have questions about the free “Personio Integration Light” plugin, please contact the support forum.

Question 16

What are extensions provided by the plugin?

Accepted Answer

The "Personio Integration" and "Personio Integration Light" plugins provide numerous extensions. These are self-contained packages that offer features tailored to specific tasks. Background: Not every project that uses the plugins requires every feature theoretically possible in connection with job postings. To ensure that editors aren’t overwhelmed by options they don’t need, while also allowing the plugin to continue performing its tasks efficiently, the so-called extensions were introduced. Usage: Both plugins automatically activate certain extensions upon initial installation. Users can go to Jobs > Extensions at any time to select which extensions they want to use and which they do not. Most extensions also provide brief usage instructions upon activation. Some extensions activate automatically, such as those that provide support for specific page builders. If the plugin detects that a supported page builder is enabled in the project, its corresponding extension may be activated automatically. There are also extensions that provide functionality for other extensions, such as the geolocation feature used by both the Map widget and the radius search. Examples As of the end of 2025, the Pro plugin contains over 50 extensions. These include, for example: Blacklist for applicant data, CSV export for applicant data, WP Amour as anti-spamprotection for application forms based on Personio Forms; WPForms for application forms based on WPForms; Import via XML for importing using the standard XML method provided by Personio; Avada to support the Avada Page Builder; Avada Availability to check whether the Personio-specific job page is still accessible for applications Partial Import for importing very large volumes of open positions from Personio schema.org for optimized job listings, e.g., for Google Jobs

Question 17

The import of jobs is already underway - why?

Accepted Answer

This message may be displayed by the "Personio Integration Light" plugin under the following conditions: An automatic import is currently running in the background. In this case, you’ll usually need to wait a few minutes for it to finish. After a maximum of 1 hour, a button will appear that allows you to force the process to end. Afterward, the import will be available again as usual. A previous import resulted in a server-side error. To investigate this, please check the error log on your hosting server as well as the plugin’s log under Positions > Settings > Logs. Once you’ve identified the cause, please feel free to contact the plugin’s support team.

Question 18

How can I record applications on my website and transfer them to Personio?

Accepted Answer

The WordPress plugin "Personio Integration" offers several ways to create application forms on your own WordPress website and to submit the entries to Personio. The following article describes what is possible. Background: Personio offers an API for transferring applications from external sources into its systems. This allows Personio users to view and manage all applications for their company in one central location. If you publish job openings on your company’s website, you’ll want the applications submitted there to be transferred to Personio as well. The WordPress plugin "Personio Integration" makes this possible. Preparations You’ll need the following to enable the collection and transfer of applications to Personio: You must decide which form plugin you want to use to collect applications on your website. More on that below. The Company ID and the Access Token provided by Personio. You can find both in your Personio account under Settings > Integration > API Credentials. The Right Form Plugin The "Personio Integration" plugin supports several form plugins for collecting application data and transferring it to Personio. As of the end of 2025, these are: Avada Forms, Contact Form 7, Elementor Forms (Elementor Pro required), Everest Forms, Fluent Forms (Pro required), Forminator, and WPForms (Pro required). In addition, the plugin also provides its own form handler called "Personio Forms." A quick decision-making guide: Does your project use one of the form plugins listed above? If so, we recommend using that one. If you don’t have any of the plugins listed above but would like to customize the form further, we recommend integrating one of the listed plugins into your project. In all other cases, feel free to use "Personio Forms." Setup: The Form Setting up the form is quick and easy—just follow these steps: In the WordPress backend, go to Applications > Settings and select "Application Form" from the "Applications in Detail View" field. Next, go to Applications > Extensions > Application Forms and activate the form plugin of your choice. Follow the setup instructions provided there. Once you’ve followed the instructions, you’ll be able to view, fill out, and submit an application form anywhere on the front end. Note that you can also use custom forms for each job posting or specific job criteria. You can configure this at any time later. Applications To transfer received applications, you must enter the Company ID and Access Token in the project once: In the WordPress backend, go to Applications > Settings > Transfer to Personio. Enter the Company ID and Access Token in the fields there OR follow the setup instructions to configure them using the button displayed there. You can then start transferring applications to Personio. Notes: Forms created using one of the plugins mentioned above should only be customized in terms of design, not structure. The fields generated by our plugin are absolutely necessary to save the applications as such and to be able to transfer them to Personio. The specifications for these come from Personio, not from the plugin itself. Since applications contain personal data, the plugin stores them exclusively in encrypted form. In addition, they are stored in the WordPress database for as short a time as possible. As soon as an application has been successfully transferred to Personio, it is removed from WordPress. You can also change this behavior in the settings under Applications > Settings > Transfer to Personio.

Question 19

How can I use individual forms for jobs?

Accepted Answer

The "Personio Integration" plugin offers highly flexible options for providing custom application forms for job openings on your own website. Details are described here. One form for all job openings This is the simplest use case and is handled by the plugin without any additional configuration. All you need to do is set up the form and the API connection for transferring applications once—that’s it. A Job Opening with a Custom Form If you have a job opening that requires a different form, you can set it up as follows: In the WordPress backend, go to Applications > Application Forms. Here, create a copy of an existing form template. Then customize the copy to suit your needs. Next, go to the relevant job posting in the frontend. Click "View Job in Backend" at the top of the page. In the job’s edit view, you’ll find a section for application forms. Select the new application form template you created. Save, and you’re done. A Custom Form for Job Postings with a Specific Attribute By "attribute," we mean the job details provided by Personio, such as primary location, department, experience, etc. If you want to display a specific application form for all job postings with a particular attribute, follow these steps: In the WordPress backend, go to Applications > Application Forms. Here, create a copy of an existing form template. Then customize the copy to suit your needs. Next, go to Jobs > and select the attribute you’re interested in. Edit the record for that position and, under "Select Application Form," choose the template you created. Save, and you’re done. An example use case here would be a different application form for secretaries in a company that otherwise only hires warehouse workers. Note on Form Plugins If you’re using a form plugin other than "Personio Forms," you may need to create your custom form template as a new form within that plugin. To do this, go to the tool provided by the Personio plugin for the form plugin and use it to create the form.

Question 20

Why do I have to enter an e-mail address for SUMM AI?

Accepted Answer

The reason for this is that SUMM AI would like to have email addresses associated with each inquiry so that any questions that may arise can be resolved more quickly. For example, if you notice during text simplification that the text generated by the SUMM AI API is unsuitable, you can contact their support team. Using your email address and, if necessary, the Job ID, they’ll be able to identify the specific text in question more quickly. If you do not want to provide your own email address here, you can also change the setting so that a custom email address you specify is used instead.

Question 21

Who should I contact if the simplified texts contain errors?

Accepted Answer

Contact the support representative for the API you’re using to simplify your text. You can find the contact information in your WordPress dashboard under Settings > Easy Language, linked in the respective boxes for each API. Provide them with as much information as possible about the problem you’re experiencing. This includes not only the original text but also the simplified version you received. The plugin provides a list of these under Settings > Easy Language > API Logs. You can also export this list as a .po file and send it to the contact person.

Question 22

Interfaces for managing external URLs in the media library

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin offers a wealth of possibilities, even for developers. For example, it provides over 150 hooks that allow you to influence and extend the plugin’s workflows and capabilities. It also offers REST API endpoints and supports the Ability API. This post explores these possibilities. Hooks The list of supported hooks can be viewed here at any time: https://github.com/threadi/external-files-in-media-library/blob/master/docs/hooks.md REST API The plugin provides a single REST API endpoint that allows you to manage URLs in your media library: /wp-json/efml/v1/file Authentication using a user’s valid WordPress API credentials is required. The user must also have permissions to edit external URLs via the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin. These endpoints have been available since version 5.0.0 of the plugin. Add a URL: Send a POST request to the endpoint listed above with the URL as the "url" request parameter. Optionally, you can also specify "login" and "password" for any login credentials. The response is an HTTP status code 200 if successful and 400 if an error occurs. Check if a URL exists in the media library: Send a GET request to the endpoint mentioned above with the URL as the "url" request parameter. The response is an HTTP status code 200 if successful, 400 if no URL parameter was specified, and 404 if the URL is unknown. Delete URL Send a DELETE request to the endpoint mentioned above with the URL to be deleted as the GET parameter "url". The response is an HTTP status code 200 if successful, 400 if no URL parameter was specified, and 404 if the URL is unknown. Abilities API WordPress’s own Abilities API allows plugins to make their capabilities known to other plugins and even AI. The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin offers two abilities that can be used for this purpose. This feature has been available since version 5.1.0 of the plugin. Add URL This ability has the following name: 'external-files-in-media-library/add'. It requires the following parameters in this order: Attachment ID => should be 0 to create a new entry. URL => the URL to be added. Login => optional; required for accessing the URL. Password => optional; required for accessing the URL. Example usage: $ability = wp_get_ability( 'external-files-in-media-library/add' ); $inputs = array( 'attachment_id' => 0, 'url' => 'https://example.com/your/url/file.pdf', ); $attachment_id = $ability->execute( $inputs ); The return value is the attachment ID of the entry created for the URL in the media library. Delete URL This ability has the following name: 'external-files-in-media-library/delete' It requires only one parameter: URL => the URL to be removed from the media library. The response is a Boolean value, where "true" indicates that the URL was successfully removed. WP CLI URLs in the media library can also be managed this way. See the documentation here: https://github.com/threadi/external-files-in-media-library/blob/master/docs/cli.md Is there an interface you’re missing? Feel free to reach out on the support forum :)

Question 23

Installation of „Connector for Propstack“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Connector for Propstack." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 24

What is a plugin?

Accepted Answer

WordPress can never, by its very nature, cover all the functions that are theoretically possible—the range of potential applications is simply too broad. This is exactly where plugins come into play: they expand a website’s capabilities in a targeted and precise manner. Plugins are self-contained software packages specialized for a specific topic or function that can be integrated into a WordPress project. With just a few clicks, you can add new features to your site—whether it’s a contact form, an online store, SEO optimization, or a booking system. Instead of writing code yourself, you simply use one of the many existing solutions. This modular structure is one of WordPress’s major advantages: Every website can be equipped with exactly the features it actually needs—no more, no less. This keeps the system lean, flexible, and fully customizable.

Question 25

Where can you get plugins?

Accepted Answer

As soon as you log in to your WordPress dashboard, your eye will quickly be drawn to the "Plugins" item in the left-hand menu—usually marked by a small plug icon. Clicking on it opens the control center for all your website’s extensions. Here you’ll find a complete overview: Which plugins are already installed? Which ones are active and therefore in use, and which ones are deactivated and sitting unused in the background? From here, you can activate, deactivate, or—if necessary—completely delete any plugin with just a few clicks. You can also see at a glance whether an update is available for any of your plugins—an important factor in ensuring the long-term security and compatibility of your site. This section is therefore the central hub for managing and maintaining the full range of features on your WordPress website.

Question 26

Who should I contact if I have questions about plugins?

Accepted Answer

If you have questions or issues regarding a specific plugin, the first—and usually best—person to contact is the plugin developer themselves. On wordpress.org, you’ll find a separate "Support" tab for every plugin in the official directory, where you can ask questions or search existing discussions. Many developers respond here surprisingly quickly and competently, especially for free plugins with active communities. For paid (premium) plugins, there is usually a direct support channel provided by the developer, often via email, a ticket system, or a dedicated customer portal—usually with guaranteed response times, since a license has been purchased. It’s also always worth checking out the general WordPress community. Forums like the German-language WP-DE community, the official WordPress Support Forum, or platforms like Stack Overflow are full of users who have already asked—and often solved—similar questions. You can also often find quick and practical help from experienced users on social media, such as in WordPress-related Facebook groups or on specialized Discord servers. When it comes to more technically complex issues, such as conflicts between multiple plugins or errors arising from interactions with your theme, it may be wise to reach out to a WordPress agency or a freelance WordPress developer. They can not only fix immediate problems but also perform a preventive check to ensure your plugin setup is stable, secure, and high-performing overall—this is especially recommended if your website is business-critical or if you’re using many extensions at the same time.

Question 27

What is the difference between plugins and themes?

Accepted Answer

In WordPress, plugins and themes serve two fundamentally different purposes, yet they complement each other well. Plugins are used to extend a website’s functionality—in other words, they add new capabilities, such as a contact form, a newsletter service, or analytics. Themes, on the other hand, are responsible for the website’s appearance: they determine how the front end—that is, what your visitors actually see—is structured and presented. Put simply: plugins handle the "What can the site do?", while themes handle the "What does the site look like?". Themes also come with their own design options. Using the so-called Customizer or modern theme options, you can often customize colors, fonts, layouts, or the arrangement of individual page elements without having to write a single line of code. Many themes also offer pre-designed templates for homepages, blog posts, or portfolio pages, so you can quickly create a professional-looking design even without any design experience. In practice, plugins and themes usually work closely together: For example, a plugin can provide new content elements, which are then visually rendered in a way that matches the chosen theme. It’s important to pay attention to compatibility—not every plugin automatically works well with every theme. Once you understand these basics, you can tailor WordPress websites both functionally and visually to your own vision.

Question 28

Installing „threadi Now Pages“

Accepted Answer

In deinem WordPress-Backend Gehe auf Plugins > Plugin hinzufügen. Suche dort nach "threadi Now Pages". Klicke beim Plugin auf "Installieren" und anschließend auf "Aktivieren. Manuell installieren Gehe auf die offizielle Plugin-Website und klicke auf "Herunterladen". Gehe in deinem WordPress-Backend auf Plugins > Plugin hinzufügen und klicke dort auf den Button "Plugin hinzufügen". Wähle im Dateidialog die im Schritt 1 heruntergeladene Datei aus und lade sie hoch. Aktiviere das Plugin anschließend. Per FTP installieren Gehe auf die offizielle Plugin-Website und klicke auf "Herunterladen". Lade die ZIP-Datei anschließend per FTP in das Verzeichnis "/wp-content/plugins/" hoch. Aktiviere das Plugin über das Menü „Plugins“ in WordPress.

Question 29

I don't see any updates for the plugins?

Accepted Answer

Normally, pending updates should appear in the backend under "Updates" or in the list of plugins. If they don't, there could be several reasons. Check Website Health Go to Tools > Website Health to see if there are any messages from WordPress itself regarding external connections. WordPress automatically detects potential issues when fetching updates and documents them there. A plugin manages updates Check to see if you’re using a plugin that manages plugin updates for your project. An example of this would be ManageWP. Check the settings for this plugin to see what needs to be done to display updates from other plugins. If necessary, contact the support team for the plugin that controls your updates. Updates are disabled Check whether the DISALLOW_FILE_MODS constant is set in your project’s wp-config.php file. You can access this file via FTP, for example. If you have any questions about this, contact your hosting provider’s support team. A security plugin is blocking external access Security plugins can also affect plugin updates. These plugins typically prevent WordPress from accessing external resources, which is a perfectly reasonable security measure in some projects. Check whether you’re using a security plugin that provides this functionality. If you have any questions, contact the plugin’s support team. A hosting firewall is blocking external access If none of the above scenarios apply to your project, a firewall in your hosting environment may also be preventing WordPress from accessing external sources. Contact your hosting provider’s support team for clarification. Note regarding my commercial plugins: The commercial plugins I’ve developed (such as Personio Integration) access the domain laolaweb.com for updates. This domain may need to be whitelisted in upstream firewalls. The plugin itself already configures WordPress to allow access—no manual intervention is necessary here. Manually download and install updates. If the standard update process doesn’t work, you can also update the plugins manually. Go to the relevant plugin page on wordpress.org. There, you’ll find the "Download" link in the top-right corner to download the latest version as a ZIP file. Save this file locally on your computer. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New > Add Plugin and select the ZIP file you downloaded in step 2. Confirm the upload. As a final step, confirm that you want to overwrite the existing plugin. Note regarding my commercial plugins: For these, you can check for the latest version at https://laolaweb.com/plugins/plugin-lizenz-abfragen/ by entering the project domain or license. It will also be available there as a ZIP file.

Question 30

How is the sustainability of the plugins ensured?

Accepted Answer

On this website, I showcase all the open-source WordPress plugins I’ve released. There are a lot of them—I’m well aware of that—and it’s also a challenge, since every plugin should maintain the same level of quality in terms of functionality, security, and future-proofing. Here, I’ll briefly explain how I ensure this sustainability. My guiding principle: Everything must have a reason, and you can find it. That’s why I often take a very close look at how something works before I release it to users. This may sound time-consuming, but in my view, it results in tremendous stability for the plugins, which is reflected in the very few support requests we receive about them. At the same time, this process has also taught me a tremendous amount about the WordPress core as well as countless other plugins—how things work and, just as importantly, how not to do them. Code Quality To ensure that I can still understand my own code even years later, I comment very diligently. I’ve gotten into the habit of commenting on almost every line, mostly in American English. There are files where two-thirds of the content consists solely of comments—but to me, that’s quality. A haphazard chunk of code without any human explanation—as is unfortunately seen in many other plugins—takes longer to understand. Use of AI For development, I use the PHPStorm IDE and its built-in code autocomplete feature, as well as the AI tool included in it from time to time to optimize code. I also occasionally use Claude or Copilot to solve tricky problems more quickly. However, I never let the AI write my code. If I do use it, I copy a portion of the code it suggests, adapt it, and add comments. Or I talk to the AI as I would a human colleague to arrive at a solution, without adopting the AI’s suggestions verbatim. Security There are many things to keep in mind when it comes to web development. Security is a top priority for me. Unfortunately, I come across far too many hacked websites while providing support in the WordPress forums and in my professional setting. For this reason, every feature I add to my plugins is evaluated holistically: its structure, its impact, and its availability—both while logged in and as an unregistered visitor—as well as across all interfaces WordPress offers (REST API, WP CLI, etc.). Tests Before Every Release A new version of any plugin is only released if it successfully passes the following tests without exception: Compliance with WordPress Coding Standards, verified using the official Composer package. Passing the WordPress Plugin Check Action tests (equivalent to the review conducted by the WordPress Plugin Team for every new upload to the repository). Passing a PHPStan scan for potential bugs at Level 8 out of 10 (unfortunately, as of 2026, WordPress does not yet support higher levels within a reasonable scope). Only a few plugins must also meet the following requirements: A series of individual PHPUnit tests that verify specific functional workflows within the plugins, which must be passed in every case. A check using the PHPCompatibility Composer package to verify compliance with WordPress-specific requirements. The Path to a Release I test every single function I add to the plugins in at least two local test environments. I then create a local release (usually with Ant) and test the new function in a test environment as well. On GitHub, I create a new release and run the checks there again. Only then does the release to the WordPress repository via SVN follow. But even that isn’t the end: as soon as the release is published, I test the installation of the new version from the WordPress repository in a test system once more to ensure that nothing actually went wrong during the SVN transfer. That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? Yes, and it’s now largely automated. To err is human—software is only as secure as the code it’s written in. Mistakes can happen, and you have to own up to them. If someone does contact me with a technical issue related to my plugins, I want to know exactly how it happened. Not only because it’s strange when the problem occurs for just one out of hundreds of users, but also because I like to get to the bottom of the problem—finding the cause and making further optimizations is an inner urge I find hard to resist. Ultimately, however, finding a solution also fulfills the wishes of the user who reported the problem. Future-Proof It’s just as important to me that my plugins work as they should even in the latest version of WordPress. That’s why, before major WordPress releases, I sit down and test each plugin with the first release candidate. By doing this, I aim to ensure that the plugins will remain usable in the future. Collaboration Very few developers have reached out so far to contribute to my plugins. You’re also welcome to reach out if you have an idea and a concrete proposal for implementing it. Please note that any contribution must meet the above-mentioned testing criteria as well as my standards for code quality. You can find the source code for all my plugins on GitHub: https://github.com/threadi Using I hope this article encourages you to use one of my plugins. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the relevant support forum.

Question 31

One media library for all websites of a multisite

Accepted Answer

With the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin, you can store all files in a shared media library within a multisite installation—accessible to every subsite within the multisite network. This helps avoid duplicating files and thus saves storage space. This article explains how to do it. Preliminary Notes The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin is actually designed to reliably integrate externally hosted files into the WordPress media library so that they can be used anywhere in the project. From the perspective of individual websites, "external" files are also those that are simply located on a different website. In a WordPress multisite, there can theoretically be any number of websites that exist in parallel within the same hosting environment but are otherwise unaware of one another. The idea to enable WordPress Multisite as a separate external source within the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin came to me after a conversation at the WordPress Meetup in Leipzig. The implementation went surprisingly quickly, since the plugin already has everything needed for this. I simply had to configure the network-specific settings and make use of existing features that are already widely used. Prerequisites To follow the instructions in this article, you’ll need a WordPress Multisite with any number of websites within it. You must be logged in as a super administrator to install and activate the plugin and configure the settings. Warning: I recommend not performing this setup on existing projects, but only on new installations. The reason is that the changes made by the plugin could potentially cause existing files to be lost. Preparations First, create a backup of the entire project. This is always recommended anyway. If you’re unsure whether this is the right approach for you, it’s best to test it in a test environment. Setup: Installing the Plugin Install the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin as usual under "Plugins" as a super administrator and activate it network-wide. You should then see this view under "Plugins": The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin within a multisite installation. Current Status: On every site in the multisite network, authorized users can upload external files to the media library. The permissions for this are the same per site as in a single-site installation and can be customized as desired. Note that the super administrator always has full access to all settings across all sites. This is a feature of this role in WordPress and is not affected by the plugin. Enable the Unified Media Library As a super administrator, access the Network Admin. Go to Settings and scroll down to "External Files in the Media Library." Here you’ll find the plugin’s network-wide settings. Under "One Media Library for All Sites," select the site that should serve as the primary media library. Save the settings. Selecting the site whose media library will serve as the base in the network settings. Current Status: On every site except the selected main site, the main site has been set up as an external source. Export and synchronization settings have been configured and enabled on each of them. For exporting, the selected main website has been set as the export destination for all files to be added. On these same websites, no one is allowed to access the plugin’s settings anymore (not even an administrator, but the super administrator can). External URLs or other external sources may still be added to these sites. Just as with normal uploads, these are stored in the central media library. No settings were changed on the main site. The saved settings can be viewed in every site under Media > Your External Sources: The saved settings for the main site’s external source within the multisite installation. A preliminary test: Access the backend in any site that is not your main site for the media library. Go to Media > Add Media. You’ll see a note below stating that files are saved on the main site when uploaded. Upload a file as usual and then access the media library. You’ll see the file there with a note indicating that it was saved externally. Then visit the site that serves as the central media library. Look in the media library there, and you’ll see the file you just uploaded. It isn’t treated as an external file because this is the source for all other sites. A file in a media library that was saved as an external file on another multisite website. The same file in the central media library. Synchronization To ensure that every website in the network knows which files are actually available, the plugin’s built-in synchronization feature is used. This feature periodically synchronizes the available files between the media libraries in the network. In this process, the files from the central media library are stored on the other sites only as external files and not as actual files in the file system. Synchronization runs once per hour. This setting can be adjusted for each website. Further Restricting Permissions You may want to prevent website users from integrating additional external sources and using them instead of the main media library you just set up. The plugin also includes an option for this. As a super administrator, access the network administration panel. Go to Settings and scroll down to "External Files in the Media Library." Here you’ll find a checkbox labeled "Hide Options." Check this box and save the settings. Setting this option now restricts the permissions managed in WordPress for all roles across all websites so that, with regard to the media library, they can literally only upload files. They can neither add external URLs nor access external sources, nor can they save these as additional sources. But what about the URLs of the files? Every file saved in the central media library in this way is treated like any other external file with regard to its URL. The plugin uses its own proxy to obscure the URLs from accessing users while also ensuring that access complies with data protection regulations. As a result, for example, when using different domains in a multisite, an external user cannot tell that the file is actually stored elsewhere. Conclusion: I’ve now shown how to use the “External Files in the Media Library” plugin to set up a media library within a multisite installation. It’s free to use. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the support forum. By the way, there’s even more you could do here: on the website you’re using as the main media library, you could specify an external source where all files should be stored. This way, you could offload all files from all multisite websites to an external service provider with more storage space and manage everything centrally.

Question 32

Can I also simplify texts in custom post types?

Accepted Answer

Basically, yes. The Easy Language plugin natively supports the "Posts" and "Pages" post types included in WordPress. If you have custom post types, you can enable them in the settings. Configuring the Settings: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Easy Language > General Settings. Here you’ll find, among other things, a list of available post types. Check the boxes next to the post types you want to enable support for. Save the settings => done. Notes: By default, the plugin currently only supports the text in the title and post content for post types. Any additional meta fields are not supported. If the post content is written in an unsupported editor, simplifying it will also not be possible.

Question 33

Simplify the text of a single page

Accepted Answer

The "Easy Language" plugin allows you to automatically simplify website text. But how can you simplify the text on just a single page? Preliminary Notes The plugin does not alter the original text on a page. The text is simplified on a parallel page created by the plugin. This page is linked to the original page and can be accessed, for example, via a language switcher or a direct link. Preparations Install the "Easy Language" plugin in your WordPress project. Find the page in your WordPress project whose text you want to simplify. Procedure Open the list of pages. Search for the page you want to simplify. Click the "+" in the "Easy Language" column and follow the prompts. During the process, you’ll also be asked if you want to simplify the page immediately. Agree to this and wait for the process to complete. Once the simplification process is complete, the page with the simplified content will be created. You can view it immediately. FAQ I don’t see a "Simple Language" column? In that case, you’ve probably either not installed the "Easy Language" plugin, haven’t configured it, or are using different language levels as targets for simplification. In the latter case, their designations appear as the language label above a column (e.g., "B1" when using capito as the API).

Question 34

Which PageBuilders are supported for the simplification of texts?

Accepted Answer

Since early 2026, the "Easy Language" plugin has supported the following page builders to simplify the content stored within them: Avada, Avia, Beaver Builder, Block Editor (Gutenberg) Bold Page Builder Breakdance Builder Brizy Classic Editor Divi Elementor Kubio Salient SeedProd SiteOrigin Themify Visual Composer WPBakery If you use a page builder not listed here, please feel free to contact the support forum to request support for it.

Question 35

Is there a size limit for files in the media library?

Accepted Answer

In general, WordPress itself does not impose any size limits on files in the media library. However, limits do apply in the following cases: the maximum upload size defined by your hosting provider. For a multisite installation, the maximum upload size is defined in the website settings. The available storage space on the WordPress hosting account. There are no such limitations when embedding external files using the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin. However, limits arise from the following factors: The available storage space on your WordPress hosting when you use the plugin’s proxy for all files (by default, only for images). The available storage space on the external source where you store your files. The bandwidth of your WordPress hosting’s server connection, as well as that of the external source, should not be too low for the initial transfer.

Question 36

Can I use the plugin to bypass my hosting's upload size limit?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. With the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin, you save files on an external hosting service rather than locally. As a result, the size limits set by your hosting provider do not apply. What’s more, you can easily bypass the upload size limit. There are several ways to do this, which are described below. Prerequisites: You simply need to have the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin installed and activated. Direct Embedding via URL In the WordPress dashboard, go to Media > Add New. Click the button to add an external file. In the dialog box that appears, enter the URL of the large file stored externally.Note: If the URL is password-protected, you can enter the password in the field below. This also applies to FTP login credentials. Confirm that the file has been embedded as an external file and wait for the result. The result is that the large file now exists as an external file in your media library. Via an external source Upload the large file to an external storage location supported by the plugin (e.g., via FTP, Dropbox, etc.). In the WordPress backend, go to Media > Add External Files and select the type of external storage here. In the form that appears, enter the connection details for the external source. These vary depending on the type of source and are therefore not described in detail here. Once the connection is established, you can locate the file in the interface and import it into the media library. The result here is that the large file now exists as an external file in your media library. Save Locally The final step is to save this external file locally. You can do this easily as follows: In the WordPress dashboard, go to your media library and view it in table mode. Find the file you’re looking for here. Next to this file, you’ll find a link labeled "Import as a real file." Click it and confirm the prompt in the dialog box. The plugin will then download the file—which is actually too large—to your local media library.

Question 37

How can I retrieve a single file from an UpdraftPlus backup?

Accepted Answer

This is also possible using the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin. Here’s how to do it: Download the backup to your local computer. Then upload it back to your hosting via FTP, but this time to the root directory of your WordPress project (where the wp-config.php file is located). Next, go to Media > Add External Files > Local in the admin panel and select the directory. Click "Import" next to the ZIP file, confirm the prompt, and wait until the import is complete. Then go to the Media Library in table view and click "Open ZIP" next to the file. The plugin will then display the contents of the ZIP file. There, you can locate the file and click "Import." This will save it to your Media Library, allowing you to use it again in your project. FAQ: I don’t see a ZIP file! Why? You first need to enable ZIP files in the plugin’s settings. Will the file overwrite the existing file when it’s extracted? No, that never happens because the plugin doesn’t allow it. Why can’t I access the backup directly without first downloading and re-uploading it? That would also be possible, but it has a drawback: under Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Services > Local, you can check the box to display all WordPress-specific directories when viewing the local directory. Once this is enabled, when you go to Media Library > Add External Files > Local, the plugin will indeed load all directories and files. However, depending on the project, there may be a very large number of them, which can either cause it to take a very long time to display them or result in a timeout.

Question 38

Why can't I unpack a ZIP?

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin allows you to extract ZIP files into the media library. This saves the files contained in the ZIP file to the media library. You can select individual files or the entire ZIP file. To unzip a ZIP file, the following requirements must be met: Under Settings > External Files in the Media Library, ZIP files must be enabled as allowed file types. The ZIP file must be marked as an external file but must also be stored locally as such. External files that are not hosted locally cannot be extracted. After extraction, you can delete the file or move it to an external location.

Question 39

How is the data I enter backed up?

Accepted Answer

That’s an extremely important and valid question! Plugins I’ve developed that require the entry of personal or confidential data always include a method for storing that data securely in encrypted form. Let me explain that in a bit more detail. Preliminary Note: This is not about creating backups. The topic of this post is a description of how plugins I’ve developed handle sensitive data. As the website operator, you are responsible for backing up your website’s data. Basic Principles: There are various methods for implementing encryption. The German Federal Ministry for Security has published an article on this topic here: https://www.bsi.bund.de/DE/Themen/Verbraucherinnen-und-Verbraucher/Informationen-und-Empfehlungen/Cyber-Sicherheitsempfehlungen/Daten-sichern-verschluesseln-und-loeschen/Datenverschluesselung/datenverschluesselung_node.html They recommend using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which, based on current knowledge, is the approach one should take. However, that alone is not enough, since you should consider not only the encryption method but also where the necessary key is stored. Implementation in My Plugins Each of my plugins that require this therefore includes a component that provides AES encryption based on PHP’s built-in functions. On hosting environments where OpenSSL is available, it is used. If OpenSSL is not available, Sodium is used. The encrypted data is stored in WordPress’s own database. Both methods require keys. These are stored neither in my plugins’ files nor in the project’s database, but rather in the project’s wp-config.php file. If wp-config.php is not writable, a “Must Use” plugin is generated that contains the key. This ensures that the encrypted data and the decryption key are logically separated. According to my research, this complies with the ISO/IEC 27002 standard. Advantages of this approach Unlike with other solutions, the plugin user does not have to worry about this security measure. My plugins handle this fully automatically in the background. As a result, the setup effort is virtually nonexistent. Disadvantages Of course, we must also discuss the disadvantages. If the key is lost, the encrypted data can no longer be decrypted. The website operator should therefore make sure to include the wp-config.php file and/or the Must Use plugin in their data backup. This is the only way to restore the key used and access their data in the event of unexpected problems with one of the files. Interested? The code for the solution described above is included under a GPL license in the relevant free plugins. An example can be found here: https://github.com/threadi/wp-personio-integration-light/blob/master/app/Plugin/Crypt.php If you have any questions, feel free to contact me :-)

Question 40

Use of external sources

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin allows you to use files from various external sources. You can also save these files for future use. The steps for doing so are described below. What are external sources? External sources refer to connections to external servers that host files you can import into your Media Library. You can set up new connections to a wide variety of servers and services—such as FTP access, your Dropbox, Google Cloud Storage, and many more—at any time and in unlimited numbers. Saving an External Source Before Establishing a Connection Before connecting to an external source, there is a button below the form that you can use to specify that this connection should be saved. Once the connection has been successfully established, it will also be saved. After Establishing a Connection For most external sources, you can also save the connection after it’s established using a button above the form. Manage external sources You can find all your saved external sources under Library > Your external sources. Here, you can delete or edit them—and, of course, connect to them. You also have access to additional options such as synchronization and export.

Question 41

Synchronize URLs in the media library

Accepted Answer

The „External Files in the Media Library“ plugin allows you to use files from various external sources. It also enables you to synchronize these files—even automatically. Here's a description of how it works. Background: Thanks to "External Files in the Media Library," you can connect a wide variety of sources for your files. You can also use these sources to automatically import files stored there into your media library. The advantage of this is that you only need to store the files in the external source; you don’t have to worry about importing them into your WordPress site—the plugin takes care of that for you. Prerequisites To use synchronization, you must save the external source as such in your project. Whenever you open an external source, you can save it as such using a button at the top. It will then be available to you under Media Library > Your External Sources. What Is Synchronized The primary system for synchronization is always the external source. When a new file is added there, it is automatically created as a new file in the Media Library and can be used in the project going forward. However, if a file is deleted from the external source, nothing is deleted from the Media Library. The reason for this is that doing so would break any existing links within the project. Synchronization Settings Synchronization settings for the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin Under Media Library > Your External Sources, you’ll find a column labeled "Synchronization" for each connection. There, you can configure settings for the connection, as shown in the screenshot above. Interval: Here you specify how often synchronization should occur if it is set to run automatically. If no changes are made, it runs once an hour as soon as it is activated. Send Email After Synchronization If an email address is specified here, an email will be sent to the specified address every time synchronization occurs. This allows you to check for yourself whether, what, and when synchronization took place. Note that you must ensure that sending emails from within your project is enabled. Select a date for each file Here you can specify that a specific date should be used for each file when it is saved. If nothing is specified, the current date is used, unless the option to use the actual file date is enabled. Enable automatic synchronization To enable automatic synchronization, simply set the toggle to "On" in the "Synchronization" column for the relevant connection in the connections table. Synchronization will then run at the interval you specified. Synchronize Manually There is also a button next to it to perform synchronization immediately. This does not affect the intervals if automatic synchronization is enabled. View Synchronized Files In addition to the "Synchronization" column, the table also includes a "Synchronized Files" column. Here you can see how many files have been synchronized per connection. If there is at least one file, two links are displayed next to it: one that leads to the synchronized files for that connection in the media library. One to remove these synchronized files from the media library. Note that when you remove synchronized files from the media library, you also disrupt their embeddings in your project. If the files were hard-coded anywhere, they are no longer available and could lead to display errors.

Question 42

Embed videos from YouTube in the media library

Accepted Answer

The „External Files in the Media Library“ plugin allows you to use files from various external sources, including videos from YouTube. The following explains how to do this. A note before we begin: Thanks to the plugin, it’s certainly possible to store YouTube video URLs in the media library. However, neither WordPress itself nor the vast majority of page builders can handle this. The reason is that it’s just a URL, and displaying a YouTube video requires a bit more than that. For this reason, the plugin also includes extensions for both the Block Editor and Elementor, allowing you to at least use the stored YouTube URLs in those environments. Accessing the Videos Prerequisites You’ll need an API token and the channel ID for your YouTube channel. You’ll need the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin. Establish a connection: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Media Library > Add External Files > YouTube. Enter both your API token and channel ID in the form. Connect. Importing Videos After connecting, the videos from your channel will be displayed as a list. Don’t be surprised: these are their internal names on YouTube, which you’ll find in their public URLs. Select the video you want to import and click its Import button. You’ll then find it as an entry in the Media Library.

Question 43

Installation of „Personio Integration Light“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Personio Integration Light." Click "Install" for the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 44

Installation of „ProvenExpert“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "ProvenExpert." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 45

Installation of „Nested numbered lists for the block editor“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Nested Numbered Lists for the Block Editor." Click "Install" for the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 46

Dealing with external files during uninstallation

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin can be uninstalled as usual. To do this, follow these steps: In the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins and find the plugin in the list. Deactivate it if it isn’t already deactivated. Then click "Delete" to remove the plugin from your site. What exactly happens when you do this? When you uninstall the plugin, all settings that the plugin brought with it and configured are removed. Likewise, all WordPress cron jobs that it created are removed. But be careful: External files that you’ve stored in the media library will also be removed. However, there’s a setting to change this behavior: Under Settings > External Files in the Media Library > Advanced, you’ll find two checkboxes: “Delete all data upon uninstallation.” This checkbox is selected by default and results in the behavior described above. If you don’t want this to happen, uncheck it here before uninstalling the plugin. Convert external files to local hosting during uninstallation If this checkbox is selected, all external files will be converted to actual files when the plugin is uninstalled.

Question 47

An automatically updating gallery

Accepted Answer

Here’s the scenario: You need a gallery view for a WordPress website. However, the photographer whose images will be displayed should not have access to the backend. Nevertheless, the images he prepares should be automatically displayed as a gallery without any action on your part. Not possible? Yes, it is! The combination makes it work. We’ll need: CatFolders – WP Media Folders External files in the media library A directory where the photographer stores the images. This can be located on the website’s own hosting server or accessible via FTP or Google Drive. First, let’s install the two WordPress plugins. This is quick—neither requires any further configuration. The Setup Now follow these steps (and yes, it looks like a lot, but once you’ve done it once, the process is clear): In the WordPress backend, go to Media > Media Library and create a folder using the options provided by CatFolder. It’s best to name it in a way that makes it clear what it’s for. Here, I’m calling it "Photographer Images." Now, in the WordPress dashboard, go to Media > "Directory Archives." Click the "Add Directory Archive" button there. Next, select the data source. In my example here, I’m simply using an FTP connection. Log in to the interface via FTP. After a moment, you should see a list of the photos already in the directory. Click "Save as Directory Archive" above the list. In the confirmation window, you’ll receive a link to the list of directory archives—follow that link. You’ll now see your entry for the external connection in the list of directory archives. Click the "Configure" button here. In the new flyout, you’ll see an option where you can select the destination folder. Now select the folder you created in the first step. So here I’ll select "Photographer Images." Save the settings—done. Interim Summary: The basic setup is now complete. We’ve established the connection to the external source and created a folder where the images will be stored. What’s missing now is a test of the synchronization, the display of the images in the front end, and the automation. So let’s get started. Test the connection Under Media > Directory Archives, you’ll see your connection to the external source. Click "Now" in the "Synchronize" column. Confirm the prompt and wait for the next response. Ideally, the "External Files in the Media Library" plugin will retrieve the images from the directory at that moment and add them to the media library as external files. So, check under Media > Media Library afterward to see if the images have been added to the folder you created. Creating a Gallery The Catfolders plugin provides a handy block that you simply select in the editor to display the images from a folder. But first things first: Go to Pages and select the page where you want the gallery to appear. Create a new page for this purpose if necessary. In the Block Editor, search for the "CatFolders" block and insert it at the desired location. In the sidebar on the right, select the folder you created for the images. In my case, that’s "Photographer Images." You should immediately see the images that have already been synced. Save the page—and you’re done. Test the synchronization Now, of course, it’s worth testing what happens when a new image is added. To do this, I’d recommend the following procedure: Upload a new image to the external source folder. Then, in the WordPress backend, go to Media > Directory Archives and click "Now" next to your connection. Wait until the synchronization is complete. Next, go to the page in the frontend where the gallery is displayed. You’ll see the newly added image there. Setting Up Automatic Synchronization The very last step is to enable automatic synchronization so it happens on its own without any action on your part. To do this, you’ll need to configure a few settings: Go to Media > Directory Archives and click "Configure" next to your connection. In the "Time Interval" field, select the desired time interval at which WordPress should start the synchronization. Confirm the setting by clicking "Save." Now, simply click "On" in the "Synchronize" column to enable the automatic process. Conclusion: For some use cases, a plugin alone isn’t the solution. But when combined, plugins can certainly provide powerful solutions. My plugin, “External Files in the Media Library,” offers a versatile tool—including synchronization starting with version 4.0.0—that’s useful even for completely different situations.

Question 48

Use login-protected files

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in Media Library" plugin allows you to integrate files from a wide variety of sources into your WordPress site. However, if these sources are password-protected, please note the following. Yes, you can use them—but not directly. Files stored in a password-protected external source cannot simply be embedded in a website. Website visitors would not be able to access the files because they do not have the necessary login credentials. The plugin now offers the option to integrate files from such sources into the media library. Wouldn’t that mean you could use them? Yes, of course. But not in a way that requires visitors to load them from the external source every time. Such files are therefore generally downloaded locally to the media library and ultimately treated like any other local file. However, they still retain all the characteristics of an external file, since they originally came from there. Affected External Sources Several external sources are "naturally" affected by this rule, such as any FTP/SFTP sources. Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, and AWS S3 are also included, as long as public access has not been set up for them.

Question 49

Use files from your Dropbox

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin allows you to use files from various external sources, including Dropbox. The steps to do this are described below. Establishing a Connection First, you need to connect to your Dropbox account. Depending on the plugin settings, this connection will be saved for all WordPress users in the project or just for your profile. For all users: Go to Settings > External Files for the Media Library > Services > Dropbox. Click "Connect now" and follow the instructions. For Your Profile Only: Access your WordPress profile—usually via the user icon in the top-right corner. Search for "Dropbox" and click "Connect now." From here, follow the instructions. Connect and view files Once the connection is established, you can view a list of your Dropbox files under Media > External Files > Dropbox. Import and use files You can then import the listed files into the media library. Note that while these files are stored here as external files, they are actually integrated into the media library. This is because external sources that are password-protected cannot be made available to website visitors.

Question 50

Use files from your Google Drive

Accepted Answer

The "External Files in the Media Library" plugin allows you to use files from various external sources, including Google Drive. The steps to do this are described below. Establishing a Connection First, you need to connect to your Google Drive. Depending on the plugin settings, this connection will be saved for all WordPress users in the project or just for your profile. For all users: Go to Settings > External Files for the Media Library > Services > Google Drive. Click "Connect now" here and follow the instructions. For your profile only: Open your WordPress profile—you can usually do this by clicking the user icon in the top-right corner. Search for "Google Drive" there and click "Connect now." From here, follow the instructions. Note: To establish the connection, the Google Drive API must be linked to your WordPress site. This is done using an app that runs via my domain www.thomaszwirner.de. You’ll receive a warning from Google about this, but you can safely agree to it. Once enough users of the plugin are using this connection, I can have this app verified by Google, which would remove this warning. Connect and View Files Once the connection is established, you can view a list of the files in your Google Drive under Media > External Files > Google Drive. Importing and Using Files You can then import the listed files into the media library. Note that while these are stored here as external files, they are actually integrated into the media library. This is because external sources that are access-protected cannot be made available to website visitors.

Question 51

Installation of „Next Meetup notice“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Next Meetup Notification." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 52

Installation of „Media Attached Filter“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Media Attached Filter." Click "Install" next to the plugin, and then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 53

Unpacking files in the media library

Accepted Answer

The plugin offers several ways to open ZIP files and extract them, either individually or in their entirety. Preparing to Work with ZIP Files By default, WordPress does not allow the upload of ZIP files. However, you can change this by going to Settings > External Files in the Media Library and selecting "ZIP" from the file type dropdown menu there. Save—and you’re done. Open an External ZIP File and Extract It into the Media Library With this method, you don’t need to explicitly enable ZIP files for the Media Library as described above. Just follow these steps: Go to Media > Add External File > ZIP. Enter the URL of the ZIP file in the input field, e.g., https://example.com/gepackt.zip. Click "Use this file" and then wait until the file and its contents have finished loading. Once the file has loaded, you have the following options: Extract a single file from the ZIP into your media library by clicking the "Import" button next to the file. Extract all files from the ZIP file into your media library by clicking "Extract Current Directory to Media Library." Depending on your settings, either method will bring up a dialog box where you can configure and confirm the file import. Go through this dialog and confirm your details. The selected files will then be extracted from the ZIP file and imported into your media library. Open and extract a ZIP file located in the media library If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to upload a ZIP file to the media library. You can do this in several ways: Under Media > Add Media, upload a ZIP file from your local computer using the standard WordPress method. Please note the following: The file size is limited by your hosting provider and/or WordPress. You must enable the upload of ZIP files in WordPress; see the note above for details. Under Media > Add Media, you can also enter an external URL that you want to add to your media library. Just make sure that ZIP files are enabled, as described above. There are no fixed size limits. Once the ZIP file appears in your media library, you’ll have two new options for it: "Extract File" — extracts the entire contents of the file into the media library. Only the files permitted by the plugin settings will be extracted. "Open File"—opens the ZIP file for viewing. This allows you to choose which files you want to extract from it.

Question 54

The import dialog

Accepted Answer

The plugin includes a very powerful import dialog that lets you customize how external files are imported into your media library. Overview of the import dialog for the WordPress plugin "External Files in the Media Library." The import dialog allows you to configure how the files you want to add to the media library should be handled. It offers numerous options, which will be discussed in more detail below. Note that the import dialog offers a different number of options depending on where it is accessed. For example, when using a service, only the options that are technically relevant and available for that service are displayed. Usage: The options displayed in the dialog do not require any mandatory information other than confirming ownership of the files. It is up to you which options you select here. Make your decision based on your specific purpose for the external URL you wish to integrate. Once you’ve made your decision, click "Add URL" below to continue the process. The plugin will then handle integrating the external URL into the media library for you, taking into account the options you selected in the import dialog. Customization: For several of the options, you can save default values in your WordPress profile. This way, you won’t have to reset the options every time you access the settings. To do this, click the user icon to the right of the options to go to your WordPress profile, where you can configure these settings. The “Login Credentials” Options: Expand this option if the URL you entered is password-protected. When using an HTTP URL, this may be Basic Authentication password protection. For an FTP URL, it may be the FTP login credentials. Check the box and enter the credentials in the fields below. Use the external file’s date: As the name suggests, if checked, the file will be saved with the date from the external file. If no such date is available, the current date will be set as usual. Add file to the queue If checked, the file is added to the queue instead of being imported immediately. WordPress will then handle processing this job. Import the file as a real file under the external URL If checked, the file is not imported into the media library as an external URL but is stored there as an actual file. The file will no longer have a link to the original external URL; nor will it be managed by the plugin. Use an External Source: Expand this option to see which external sources are supported by the plugin. This also allows you to access external files in API-based services such as Google Cloud Storage or Dropbox. Confirm Authorship: This is the only required field in the options, but it can also be disabled in the user settings. This checkbox serves as a reminder to only embed external files for which you have the necessary permission to use them.

Question 55

Installation of „Audio on every block“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Audio on Every Block." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 56

Installation of „Automatic category for posts“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Automatic Category for Posts." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 57

Installation of „Download List Block with Icons“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Download List Block with Icons." Click "Install" for the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.

Question 58

Installation of „Easy Language - Simple and Easy Language“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Easy Language – Simple and Easy Language." Click "Install" for the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add New Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.

Question 59

Installation of „Uploading images via Imgur“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Upload Images via Imgur." Click "Install" next to the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 60

Installation of „category and keyword feeds“

Accepted Answer

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Category and Tag Feeds." Click "Install" for the plugin, then click "Activate." Manual Installation: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Add Plugin" button. In the file dialog, select the file you downloaded in Step 1 and upload it. Then activate the plugin. Install via FTP: Go to the official plugin website and click "Download." Then upload the ZIP file via FTP to the "/wp-content/plugins/„ directory. Activate the plugin via the “Plugins" menu in WordPress.

Question 61

The plugin concept

Accepted Answer

Over time, the "External Files for Media Library" plugin has evolved from a small application into a comprehensive tool. It can help solve a wide variety of use cases related to files in WordPress. Here, I’ll explain the concept behind it to show the possibilities it offers for a wide range of WordPress-based projects. The Origins To understand the concept, it’s important to know a bit about its history. A few years ago, I developed the "Download List with Icons" plugin. This plugin allows files to be displayed in a convenient list within the Block Editor. You assign files from the media library to the block, and they are then displayed. Interestingly, many users of this plugin work in the academic field. This involves, for example, PDF-based documentation of publications. None of this is a problem with the plugin. However, academic institutions often prefer to store such documents centrally in one location so they can update them as needed and distribute them simultaneously. This led to a requirement that was completely new to me: users of my plugin needed a way to enter URLs directly into the download list block 😒 I first tried to create a solution using React so that users could enter them directly in the block. However, I failed, mainly because the user interface simply wasn’t suitable for this purpose. The Basic Concept First, I looked around to see if I could find a plugin in the WordPress Plugin Repository that was designed specifically for this. Interestingly, I found a few small ones, but they were extremely outdated. For example, they allowed you to download a file via FTP into the media library. That wasn’t quite what I was looking for. And the way these plugins were coded didn’t meet my quality standards or those of the WordPress repository, which has definitely improved in recent times. So I created a new plugin: External Files in the Media Library. With this plugin, I expanded the Media Library to include the ability to specify URLs for files, which could then be used in the project just like regular media files. At first, I simply downloaded the files from the specified URLs and saved them in the Media Library. However, that didn’t align with the goal described above of keeping the files external. So I looked into what could be done to store external files as such in the media library—and it worked surprisingly well. So I arrived at my basic concept for the plugin: store the URLs of external files in the media library, not the files themselves. Why URL-based, specifically? Files on the internet are all referenced by a URL. These can be directly accessible or protected by some form of access control. But they all have URLs. Why not use the "Embed" block? With it, you can integrate wonderful external content into your own website. But it doesn’t allow for linking within my block for the download list. The Evolution of the Plugin With that, I had definitely achieved my original goal of being able to use external URLs with icons in the Download List plugin. Sure, it’s another plugin you’d have to install—but those who need it will use it. And so I began expanding it bit by bit, mostly out of my own desire, since I see it as a technical challenge for myself. By now, it far exceeds its original purpose of being a support tool for my other plugin—though both remain compatible with each other. Of course, protocol URLs also use different protocols. Everyone knows HTTP; FTP is still familiar to some. In addition, there are HTTPS, SFTP, FTPS, SSH, and others (even something like Gopher). Most are access-protected, while some are only optionally so. So I began by adding support for these protocols in the plugin. What’s particularly helpful in this development is that WordPress itself actually already has everything needed for this. Using objects based on `WP_Filesystem()`, you can easily query a wide variety of protocols. Some, of course, require corresponding PHP modules on the server side. But I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. And so, support for many different protocols in the URLs was added fairly quickly. File Types: In a fresh installation, WordPress itself only allows the upload of certain file types. PDF, JPG, PNG, and others are part of everyday life for most users. I didn’t want to extend these rules with my plugin, since "External Files for the Media Library" is intended to handle external files and not manage file types—there are other excellent plugins for that. So my plugin accesses this list from WordPress (which other plugins can expand) to check whether an external file is allowed. In the plugin’s settings, you can at least choose which of the formats supported by WordPress you’d like to use for external files. Services Since the plugin had been working extremely well up to this point, I started thinking bigger. What do WordPress users use to manage their files outside of WordPress that they then want to integrate into their projects? How could I make their work easier? I came across a wide variety of service providers that make it possible to manage files. And how do you access them externally? Yes, via API. So, bit by bit, I began integrating service providers like Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, and AWS S3 into the plugin. Here, too, these are file URLs that I obtained via API—so no problem for the basic functions of "External Files for the Media Library." The main challenge during implementation was getting to know and integrating each API. Since I rarely—if ever—use these platforms myself, I was breaking new ground—but that’s exactly what fascinates me about IT: the possibilities you have without even knowing about them, and then discovering them. Convenient File Views with React Everything I’ve described so far involves background tasks. Objects and tasks are created within the plugin that have no visual output for the user in the WordPress backend. But I also had to provide the user with an interface for these services so they could see what files were there and select from them. This led to the creation of a React-based tool called "Easy Directory Listing for WordPress," which is available on GitHub as a Composer package. My plugin uses this tool to handle all file listings in the backend. It displays a tree structure on the left and the file list on the right. Options for importing and several other features are also available. Directory view of an external source in the “External Files in the Media Library” plugin Compatibility with other plugins A major shortcoming of the WordPress Media Library remains that you can’t organize files there. They’re simply stored without any categorization or organization. This can be solved with a variety of plugins: https://de.wordpress.org/plugins/filebird/ https://de.wordpress.org/plugins/ifolders/ https://de.wordpress.org/plugins/folders/ https://de.wordpress.org/plugins/real-media-library-lite/ .. just to name a few—there are many more. Since I’m aware that users of my plugin may also want to organize their external files, I’ve ensured compatibility with many of these third-party plugins. This allows you to specify during import whether and where you want to organize a file if you’re using a plugin for media library directories and “External Files in the Media Library” supports that functionality. In addition, there’s also compatibility with WooCommerce’s CSV-based import, as well as various other plugins that handle files in the media library. Synchronization Since the manual method worked so smoothly for a wide variety of sources, I began to consider an automated approach as well. A use case could be, for example, wanting to automatically update a gallery—simply because a new file is available in an external source. The plugin can now do this as well and offers this feature for nearly all external sources. Exporting Files And while I’m on the subject of file handling: until now, the plugin could only import files into the media library. But what if you want to save a file from the media library to an external location? This is the classic case of offloading files. Since I already had the connection to the sources, it was a simple matter to enable the export of files to them as well. Licensing as a Challenge In early 2026, I asked a few friends to test the next version of the plugin. I’d been working on an update for 7 months by then and wanted to finally finish it. The feedback was mixed. Some were overwhelmed by the possibilities and didn’t even know where to start testing. Others appreciated the many well-written instructions (all in English at the time) on how to use the features. As a result, I wanted to release the plugin directly as version 5.0.0. The package had grown to a massive 6.8 MB and contained all the necessary libraries. This led to two problems I hadn’t even been aware of before: Uploading the update via SVN to the WordPress repository doesn’t work because a timeout occurs after about an hour. There’s no way to bypass this—it’s hard-coded. As I learned, the Gutenberg team had also failed to do this years ago. Since I had to review the plugin’s files again due to their sheer volume, I noticed that some of the libraries used weren’t GPL-compatible at all. The solution was obvious: I split up the plugin. The non-GPL-compatible libraries were moved into separate plugins that I could host on GitHub. This included all support for AWS S3-compatible cloud storage. But this immediately yielded several advantages: The plugin’s features are no longer as overwhelming as some testers had reported. The package has become significantly smaller and will thus be able to be published to SVN. I’m not taking any risk of mixing in non-GPL-compatible libraries, which could lead to the plugin being blocked in the repository. I can encapsulate the functions for individual external sources into separate plugins, which makes it clearer and easier to maintain for me. Other developers can contribute their own plugins to provide external sources for my plugin. After a few weeks, the plugins were finally ready for use. The plugin had thus undergone yet another transformation, but in my view, for the better. In conclusion, the concept I outlined above has evolved due to the wide range of possibilities the plugin now offers. After more than three years of development, I would describe it as follows in early 2026: optimization of file management in the media library using external sources.

Question 62

Which blocks are supported?

Accepted Answer

The WordPress plugin "Audio on Every Block" allows you to add an audio file to various blocks. These include: Heading, Paragraph, Gallery, Bulleted List, Media, Text, Navigation, Quote, Pullquote, and Table. If you would like support for additional blocks, please feel free to post in the support forum.

Question 63

Create an image gallery from an FTP directory

Accepted Answer

The "External Files for the Media Library" plugin allows you to access external directories and use the files they contain in image galleries. The following explains how to do this. There are actually several ways to do this. Please decide which one applies to your specific situation. Files are not hosted on your own server but are available via FTP. Preparation: You’ll need the FTP login credentials for the server where the files are located. You’ll need the "External Files for the Media Library" plugin. Procedure In the WordPress dashboard, go to Media Library > Add External Files > FTP. Enter your FTP login credentials in the form. Log in via FTP using these credentials. It will take a moment for the directories and files to load. Click the designated button next to the files you want to import. Alternatively, you can import all the files that are displayed. Files are stored on your own hosting server Preparation Upload the files to your own WordPress hosting—for example, via FTP or using a tool provided by your hosting provider—so that they are stored there. Place them outside the WordPress directories, for example, in a separate directory. You’ll need the "External Files for the Media Library" plugin. Procedure: In the WordPress admin panel, go to Media Library > Add External Files > Local Server. It will take a moment for the list of directories and files to load. Click the button provided for the files you want to import. Alternatively, you can import all the files that are displayed.

Question 64

I get timeouts when loading the FTP directory.

Accepted Answer

This can happen if a) the directory you're trying to upload is very large and b) the FTP connection between your WordPress hosting and the destination server is slow. You have several options to resolve this: Specify a more precise FTP directory when connecting. Instead of just ftp://example.com, use something like ftp://example.com/mydirectory/ to upload only that directory. Switch to a different protocol to upload the files.

Topic: Frequently Asked Questions