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#705 by installs

Default Featured Image

by Jan-WillemVersion 1.8.2

Add a Default Featured Image for all posts & pages.

Active installs
50,000+
#705 of 1,000
Downloads, all time
567.8K
567,798
Downloads, 30 days
5.6K
1.3K in the last 7
Rating
4.8 / 5
69 reviews
Last updated
4 months ago
Jun 17, 2026
Version
1.8.2
23 releases

Upkeep and compatibility

Last updatedJune 17, 2026Updated in the last year
Tested up toWordPress 7.0.8Older than WordPress 7.1.4, the current release
Needs WordPress6.2 or newer
Needs PHP7.4 or newer
First publishedDecember 25, 2012
Support, last two months0 of 1 threads resolved (0%)

Reviews

4.8 / 5 from 69 reviews

Reviews by star rating
5 stars64
4 stars2
3 stars1
2 stars1
1 star1

Downloads, last 30 days

Low 43 a dayHigh 333 a day

What the author says it does

Add a default featured image to the media settings page. This featured image will show up if no featured image is set. Simple as that.

Take a look at FAQ for the basic questions.

Feel free to contact me on the forum or on the github repository.

The opening of the plugin's own description. The full text, installation notes and changelog are on its WordPress.org page.

Questions the author answers

My chosen featured image doesn’t show, why isn’t it working?

This plugin works out of the box for most cases, but not always. If it doesn’t work you can try the following things.

  • Switch themes. Most of the time the theme does something weird.
  • Are you using the Core WordPress functions to get the image? (see the FAQ below this one).
  • Do normal feature images work?
  • Might it be hidden via css? DFI images have an extra default-featured-img class added to them.
Which functions can I use to display the featured image?

There are no new functions, all core WordPress functions can be used.

  • the_post_thumbnail / get_the_post_thumbnail Display the image.
  • the_post_thumbnail_url / get_the_post_thumbnail_url Get the url.
  • has_post_thumbnail If a DFI is set it will always return true.
  • get_post_thumbnail_id will return the ID set on the post or the DFI.
Can I set a different image for a custom post type?

Yes, the following code will set a different image.

add_filter( 'dfi_thumbnail_id', 'dfi_posttype_book', 10, 2 ); function dfi_posttype_book( $dfi_id, $post_id ) { $post = get_post( $post_id ); if ( 'book' === $post->post_type ) { return 31; // the image id for the book post type. }

return $dfi_id; // the original featured image id. }

Can I set different images per category?

Yes, the following snippet will set different images based on the category.

add_filter( 'dfi_thumbnail_id', 'dfi_category', 10, 2 ); function dfi_category( $dfi_id, $post_id ) { // Set a different image for posts that have the 'cats' category set. // This will trigger first, if multiple categories have been set. if ( has_category( 'cats', $post_id ) ) { return 7; // cats img id.

Can I change the HTML of the default featured image?

When a Default Featured Image is used it will already add an extra class default-featured-img.

This can be used for styling.

If you need more you can change the whole HTML with the filter dfi_thumbnail_html.

add_filter( 'dfi_thumbnail_html', 'dfi_add_class', 10, 5 ); function dfi_add_class( $html, $post_id, $default_thumbnail_id, $size, $attr ) { // Add a class to the existing class list.

Can I exclude one page from having a Default Featured Image?

The following code will exclude the post/page with ID 23.

add_filter( 'dfi_thumbnail_id', 'dfi_skip_page', 10, 2 ); function dfi_skip_page( $dfi_id, $post_id ) { if ( $post_id == 23 ) { return 0; // invalid id. }

return $dfi_id; // the original featured image id. }

Latest changelog entry

1.8.2

  • Fixed typo in uninstall script.

Screenshots

From WordPress.org.

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Where this page's numbers come from

Read from the WordPress.org plugin API on , when WordPress 7.1.4 was the current release. WordPress.org rounds active installs into buckets. These are the directory's figures, not my verdict, and I haven't tested this plugin.