Help article

What does Uploads to S3 change on a WordPress site?

Updated November 1, 2026

Uploads to S3 synchronizes configured media and storage paths with Amazon S3, can upload new Media Library files and generated sizes, and rewrites eligible public URLs to a configured S3 or CDN base. It can reduce local media storage when verified local-source deletion is enabled. It does not provision your AWS infrastructure or move WordPress application code automatically.

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Read the complete Uploads to S3 installation guide.

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Uploads to S3

What do I need before installing Uploads to S3?

Use WordPress 6.0 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer, an S3 bucket in your AWS account, and credentials restricted to the bucket, prefixes and operations you enable. Decide the production/staging prefix structure and public delivery URL before migration. Keep credentials out of tickets and screenshots. AWS storage, requests, bandwidth and optional CloudFront have separate charges.

Uploads to S3

How should I run the first S3 migration test?

Back up the WordPress database and files, then start on staging or a limited pilot uploads path. Leave local-source deletion off. Upload a few representative images, confirm originals and generated sizes exist remotely, and open their public URLs while signed out. Review failed and skipped files before synchronizing a larger batch or enabling hourly automation.

Uploads to S3

Does configuring a CloudFront URL create the distribution?

No. Create and configure CloudFront in AWS first, including its origin, HTTPS certificate, access and cache behavior. After the distribution can retrieve the intended public objects, use its domain as the plugin public base URL. Check pages, responsive image sizes, feeds, social images and commerce emails before changing a live delivery mapping.

Uploads to S3

Why are images missing after enabling URL rewriting?

Check the exact bucket region, object prefix, stored object key and configured public base URL. Open one affected object URL while signed out and inspect its HTTP response. Confirm permissions and any CDN origin/access settings, then review sync failures and relevant caches. Preserve local originals while investigating. Do not paste AWS keys, private object URLs or visitor data into a public report.

Uploads to S3

When is it appropriate to delete local media sources?

Enable deletion only after verified remote storage, reliable public delivery, a tested restore path and monitoring. Start with a limited path. The plugin deletes local sources only after successful upload or positive remote verification; operational mistakes can still make remote-only files unavailable. The optional read-only S3-to-local backup scheduler keeps S3 as master. Synchronization alone is not a complete backup strategy.

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