Managing Photo Library
The Photo Library is your central media storage — it's where you upload, organize, and manage all the images used across your website. From the left sidebar, the Photos section expands into two pages: Photos and Categories.
Categories
Categories are the folders that keep your library organized. Setting them up before uploading makes it much easier to find and reuse images later.
The Category List
The Categories page displays all your photo categories as cards in a grid. Each card shows the category name and edit/delete controls. The sticky header includes a search bar to filter categories by name and a New button to create one.
Adding a Category
Click New and enter a category name. The name is required — click Submit to save.
Editing or Deleting a Category
- Click the pencil icon on any category card to rename it.
- Click the trash icon to delete a category. A confirmation dialog appears first. Deleting a category removes the category record but does not delete the photos that were assigned to it.
Photos
The Photo Grid
Photos are displayed as image cards in a responsive grid. Each card shows:
- A thumbnail preview of the image
- Up to two category tags (with a "+X more" chip if the photo belongs to additional categories)
- The photo title (truncated if long)
- Three action buttons at the bottom: Download, Edit, and Delete
Photos load in batches as you scroll — more appear automatically when you approach the bottom of the page. "That's all!" appears when you've reached the end.
Searching and Filtering
Search bar Type to filter photos by title or category name. Results update automatically as you type. Click the × inside the search bar to clear it.
Category filter Click the Categories dropdown to filter by one or more categories at once. Selected categories appear as chips. The search bar and category filter work together simultaneously.
Clear Filters When any filter is active, a Clear Filters button appears in the header. Click it to reset everything at once.
View Modes
The toolbar includes a toggle between two layouts:
List View (default) All photos appear in a single grid regardless of category.
Category View Photos are grouped by category folder. Click a folder card to open it and browse only the photos assigned to that category. The search bar works inside a folder too.
Uploading Photos
Click the New button to open the upload form. You can also drag and drop image files anywhere onto the page to trigger the same upload flow.
Upload Form Fields
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Title | Optional. The display name for your photos. If you upload multiple files with a title, they'll be automatically numbered: Title (1), Title (2), etc. If left blank, the filename is used. |
| Summary | Optional. A brief description of the photos. |
| Category | Required. Assign photos to one or more categories. If you need to create a new category on the spot, click the gear icon next to the field — this opens the category manager without closing the upload form. |
| Images | Select one or more images using the Select Images button or drag them into the dashed drop zone. |
Accepted File Types and Size
- Formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, WebP
- Maximum file size: 20 MB per file
Images are automatically optimized before uploading to keep your site fast. If an image is still large after optimization, you'll see a confirmation prompt before it's uploaded.
Selecting Multiple Files
You can select and upload multiple images in a single upload session. Each selected image appears as a thumbnail preview in the form. To remove an individual file before uploading, click the × on its thumbnail. To start over, click Clear All.
Duplicate Detection
If you select a file with the same name and modification date as one already in the selection queue, it will be rejected with a message indicating the duplicate.
Upload Button
The Upload X Photos button in the header becomes active once you've selected at least one image and chosen at least one category. Click it to begin. If any files fail to upload, a summary of the failures is shown — successfully uploaded files are saved regardless.
Editing a Photo
Click the edit (pencil) icon on any photo card to open the edit form. You can update:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Title | Required in edit mode. |
| Summary | Optional description. |
| Category | Reassign to different or additional categories. |
The image itself cannot be replaced — if you need a different image, delete this photo and upload a new one. Click Update to save your changes.
Downloading a Photo
Click the download icon on any photo card to download the original file to your device.
Deleting Photos
Single Delete
Click the trash icon on a photo card. A confirmation dialog warns that the file will be permanently removed from storage. Click Delete to confirm.
Bulk Delete
To delete multiple photos at once:
- Click the checkbox on each photo card you want to delete (or click anywhere on the card while selecting). Selected cards turn blue.
- A Delete Selected (X) button appears in the header showing how many photos are selected.
- Click it to open the confirmation dialog, which lists every photo that will be deleted.
- Click Delete X Photos to confirm.
Deletion removes both the image file from storage and its record from the database. This action cannot be undone.
Tips
- Set up categories first. A well-organized library saves time later when choosing images for pages, articles, and products.
- Use descriptive titles. When searching for an image weeks later, a title like "Clinic Reception — Summer 2025" is far easier to find than a raw filename like
IMG_4821.jpg. - Bulk upload by category. Open the upload form, select a category, then drop an entire folder of related images at once to batch-upload them in a single step.
- Category View is useful for audits. Switch to Category View to quickly see which folders have too many or too few images, or to find photos you forgot to categorize.