Change the Default Image Alignment

Changing the default image alignment in WordPress can be useful when you want to have a specific alignment for all the images you insert into your posts or pages. By default, WordPress aligns images to the left, but you can change this to align images to the right or center instead.

To change the default image alignment, you can use the image_default_align filter hook. This filter allows you to modify the default alignment value for images.

Here’s an example code snippet that changes the default image alignment to center:

function wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment( $align ) {
    return 'center';
}
add_filter( 'image_default_align', 'wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment' );

In this code snippet, we define a custom function wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment that takes the default alignment value as a parameter and returns the desired alignment value, which in this case is 'center'. We then use the add_filter function to hook our custom function to the image_default_align filter.

You can place this code snippet in your theme’s functions.php file or in a custom plugin file. Once you have added this code, all newly inserted images will be aligned to the center by default.

Note that this code only affects newly inserted images and will not change the alignment of existing images in your posts or pages. To change the alignment of existing images, you will need to edit each image individually and select the desired alignment option.

Examples

Example 1: Changing the default image alignment to center

This use case demonstrates how to change the default image alignment in WordPress to center. By default, WordPress aligns images to the left. However, you may want to change this default behavior to center align images for a specific theme or website.

function wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment( $align ) {
    return 'center';
}
add_filter( 'wp_default_image_align', 'wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment' );

The code example above uses the wp_default_image_align filter to change the default image alignment to center. The wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment function returns the desired alignment value, in this case, ‘center’. By adding this code to your theme’s functions.php file, all newly inserted images will be automatically aligned to the center.

Example 2: Changing the default image alignment to right

This use case demonstrates how to change the default image alignment in WordPress to right. By default, WordPress aligns images to the left. However, you may want to change this default behavior to right align images for a specific theme or website.

function wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment( $align ) {
    return 'right';
}
add_filter( 'wp_default_image_align', 'wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment' );

The code example above uses the wp_default_image_align filter to change the default image alignment to right. The wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment function returns the desired alignment value, in this case, ‘right’. By adding this code to your theme’s functions.php file, all newly inserted images will be automatically aligned to the right.

Example 3: Changing the default image alignment to none

This use case demonstrates how to change the default image alignment in WordPress to none. By default, WordPress aligns images to the left. However, you may want to change this default behavior to remove any alignment for images for a specific theme or website.

function wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment( $align ) {
    return 'none';
}
add_filter( 'wp_default_image_align', 'wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment' );

The code example above uses the wp_default_image_align filter to change the default image alignment to none. The wpsnippets_change_default_image_alignment function returns the desired alignment value, in this case, ‘none’. By adding this code to your theme’s functions.php file, all newly inserted images will have no alignment applied.