The Wp-Content Folder in WordPress
To say WordPress is among the top 3 web content management systems (CMS) may be an understatement. In our opinion, it is the absolute best, but we do not have the numbers to prove that, so let’s stick with one of the top 3. Among the most awesome features of WordPress, its ease of use is the most liked feature. Anyone with the slightest know-how of operating a computer can make, run, and maintain a WordPress (WP) site.
Warning: Any changes in this folder can lead to a complete failure or loss of data on a WordPress site; exercise caution while making any changes. If in doubt, consult a professional and avoid making changes yourself.
In this article, we are going to explore a small technical aspect of WordPress. We will explore the most important directory of the WordPress CMS, i.e., the “wp-content.” This one is all about how to view wp content uploads?
How to view the wp-content Folder?
You can access the wp-content folder by either going to the File Manager on your hosting dashboard or using the FTP connection to your site. It is located within the “public_html” or “www” folder shortcut. Double click on either one of these two, and you will be able to view this folder.
It is short for WordPress-Content, and it literally contains all the content of your WP site. On a freshly installed WP site, you will find three folders in the wp-content folder:
- Mu-plugins
- Plugins
- Themes
- Uploads
Image 1: The WordPress File Manager
The Plugins (and mu-plugins) folder in wp-content:
As the name implies, this folder contains all the plugins on a WP site. Whether a plugin is active or inactive, this folder houses all the installed plugins. When you use the “Install” command from the WordPress dashboard or the “Upload” option, a respective folder for that plugin is created in this folder, and all files are uploaded (or stored) here.
Some plugins and even the WordPress core require the use of plugins known as “Must Use” plugins; these plugins are stored in the mu-plugins folder.
Pro Tip: If your WordPress site seems to crash right after installing and (or) activating a new plugin, head to the “Plugins” folder and delete its respective folder. Sometimes just renaming the folder can also do the trick.
Image 2: Inside the Plugins folder
Some WordPress hosting companies limit the upload size. You may end up not being able to upload a plugin. In this case, you can use the File Manager to directly save the “Zipped” format of the plugin files. Once the upload is complete, you can unzip that folder, and your Plugin will show up on the WordPress “Plugins” dashboard.
The Themes folder in wp-content:
The themes folder, like the plugins folder, holds all the themes installed on your WP site. All the default themes and the uploaded/added themes are stored here. As suggested above, for a Plugin malfunction (misbehaved, as pointed out by WordPress), you can access this folder to delete the theme folder to restore your site.
Image 3: The Themes folder in wp-content
Again, this folder can be used in the same fashion as the Plugins folder to upload heavier Themes Zipped files and later extract them to add a new theme to your site.
The Uploads folder:
Anything you upload to a WordPress site through the dashboard will be stored here (besides Themes and Plugins). Whether that’s a PDF or video file, a logo, your site images, any downloadable content, everything will be stored here in a yearly archive. Within each archive, you will find many subfolders.
Pro Tip: You can use the File Manager or FTP to upload many (heavy) files at a time. Especially with FTP, if the connection is lost for some reason, it will resume upload from the same point.
Unlike other folders, if you make a mistake, like deleting some images, it won’t render your site useless. However, placeholders for those images (and files) will appear empty.
Other folders
As your site grows, you will see many more subfolders and files in the wp-content folder of your WordPress site. One of the most common subfolders is cache, which stores temporary cached versions. “Languages” folder will appear if you offer a multi-linguistic site. The upgrade folder gets added to this main folder to store temp files during an upgrade. Wc-logs is yet another folder to store upgrades and other logs related to your site.
A note on securing the wp-content folder:
Wp-Content folder is an important folder that is easily accessible to every theme, plugin, and media file. This makes it an easy target for hackers. If you suspect anything or wish to secure your WordPress site, you may consider renaming and hiding this folder. Although you can do so manually, we do not recommend that. Due to the sensitive nature of this folder, we recommend using a plugin to secure this folder for you. There are many security plugins available on the WordPress marketplace which you can use to either hide or rename this folder.
Or you can use the scalable WordPress hosting offered by GeekBee. GeekBee hosting solution offers more resources when needed, and you pay for a higher tier resource when needed and utilized. In addition to this, GeekBee has deployed BitNinja server security which is the most advanced server security solution. It is one of the best servers that can detect almost any kind of security risk. GeekBee WordPress hosting solution does all this to secure your site and offer you the best service you deserve.
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