Do you want to download all the images and media files from your WordPress website?

There are multiple ways to download all your WordPress media library files. One way is to use an FTP client, but that’s not the easiest for beginners.

In this article, we’ll show you how to download your entire WordPress media library, step by step.

Method 1. How to Download WordPress Media Library with Export Media Library Plugin

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Export Media Library plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once you’ve activated Export Media Library, go to Media » Export section in your admin area, and you’ll see the following screen:

In the Folder Structure dropdown menu, you can choose ‘Single folder with all files,’ which means all of your media will be downloaded into one folder.

If you choose ‘Nested folders,’ then your media will be placed into separate folders based on the time of upload.

Once you have chosen the settings, simply click the ‘Download Zip’ button, and your entire media library will be downloaded into a zip file on your computer.

Method 2. How to Download WordPress Media Library with UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is the best WordPress backup plugin that you can use to create automatic backups of your website.

You can also use UpdraftPlus to manually download the WordPress media library.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the UpdraftPlus plugin.

Once you’ve activated UpdraftPlus, go to Settings » UpdraftPlus Backups, and you’ll see the following screen:

Click on the Backup Now button, and then you’ll get a pop-up.

You need to check the box next to ‘Include your files in the backup’ and make sure you click the ‘(…)’ link to expand the settings. Since we want to download the media library, you’ll only check the box next to ‘Uploads’ here.

Next, you can click on the ‘Backup Now’ button, and you’ll see the following:

Click the ‘Uploads’ button and you’ll see this screen:

Now, click on ‘Download to your computer’ and select where you want the zip folder to go. We chose the desktop but you can choose any folder on your computer hard drive.

Why Would You Want to Download the Media Library?

If you want to store a copy of your media library on your computer, then these plugins work well.

You can always use a fully automated WordPress backup solution, and it will back up your entire WordPress site (including plugins, themes, posts, and the media library).

However, most backup plugins do not have an easy way to download just your uploads and media library. These plugins provide a much quicker way to do that.

You could also use your WordPress hosting account file manager or FTP, but we are not showing those solutions here because it’s generally more time consuming.

We hope this article helped you download your WordPress media library. You may also want to see our tutorial on how to speed up your WordPress website, and our comparison of best webinar software to grow your sales.

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