Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) vs Related Posts by Taxonomy

Auto Featured Image automatically fixes missing featured images and thumbnails across your WordPress site. Generate featured images from post titles, extract images from post content, or bulk assign thumbnails using advanced filters and scheduling — all in just a few clicks. It works seamlessly with Gutenberg, Elementor, Classic Editor, and any custom post type. No more manual uploads. No more posts going live without featured images. With Auto Featured Image, you can: Generate featured images in bulk Create dynamic images from post titles Detect and assign images already inside post content Automatically apply default fallback images Set advanced filters and control generation rules Schedule bulk image generation Whether you run a small blog or manage thousands of posts, Auto Featured Image saves hours of repetitive work and keeps your website visually consistent — automatically. ⚡ Quick Links Support Forum Documentation Compare Free vs Pro Go Pro 🚀 How It Works Step 1: Choose a Generation Method Select how featured images should be created: Find in post – Uses the first image found inside the content. Generate from title – Creates a featured image dynamically using the post title. Find or generate – Uses existing images, otherwise generates one. Find or use default image – Falls back to a predefined image if none is found. Step 2: Filter Your Posts Apply filters to control exactly where images should be generated: Post Type Post Status Post Category Date Range This ensures you only modify the content you intend to. Step 3: Generate in One Click Click Generate Featured Images and the plugin: Processes posts in bulk Shows real-time progress Logs the last 100 generated images Updates thumbnails instantly in the posts list 🔥 Core Features (Free Version) ✅ Bulk Generate Featured Images: Automatically create and assign featured images to multiple posts at once. Perfect for fixing older content in minutes instead of hours. ✅ Find Images Inside Content: Automatically detect the first image inside a post and set it as the featured image. Ideal for blogs that already include images but missed setting thumbnails. ✅ Generate from Title: Create clean, text-based featured images using the post title. Great for minimal blogs, news sites, and content-heavy websites. ✅ Default Fallback Image: Set a default image that will be applied whenever no suitable image is found, ensuring every post always has a featured image. ✅ One-Click Generation: Generate featured images for all selected posts instantly from a single dashboard screen. ✅ Generation Log: Monitor recently generated images with preview, size, generation method, and status for full transparency and control. ✅ Live Preview Mode: Instantly see how your featured image will look while adjusting background, font, alignment, colors, and layout settings. No need to save and regenerate repeatedly. ✅ Posts List Integration: Generate, set, or remove featured images directly from the WordPress Posts screen using bulk actions. Manage multiple posts at once without opening each post individually. 💎 Auto Featured Image Pro Upgrade to unlock full control and automation power [PRO] Smart Filters & Targeting Generate featured images exactly where and when you need them: Filter by post status, category, or date range Target specific post types Schedule generation automatically [PRO] Advanced Background Controls Design featured images that match your brand: Gradient background support Upload custom background images [PRO] Typography & Layout Controls Full control over how your title-based images look: Use Google Fonts Upload custom font files Horizontal text alignment Vertical text alignment Custom before/after string text Custom padding [PRO] External Image Integration Find images without leaving your dashboard: Search and select images directly from Unsplash Search and select images from Pixabay [PRO] Import & Automation Scale your workflow: Automatically upload external images to Media Library Schedule featured image generation Advanced post type targeting 🧩 Use Cases Fix Missing Thumbnails Clean up old blogs or imported content that lacks featured images. Affiliate & Content Sites Automatically generate branded thumbnails from titles. High-Volume Publishing Use filters and scheduling to automate thumbnail generation at scale. Auto Featured Image is developed and maintained by Themeisle, a company trusted by over 1 million WordPress users worldwide.

Quickly increase your readers’ engagement by adding related posts in the sidebar or after post content with a widget or shortcode. Posts with the most terms in common will display at the top! This plugin is capable of finding related posts in multiple taxonomies and post types. Include or exclude terms from the search for related posts. Change the look and feel by using your own templates in a (child) theme. plugin documentation Plugin features: Widget and Shortcode. Display related posts as post thumbnails, links, excerpts or full posts. Small Footprint. Doesn’t slow down your site! Automatic display of related posts after the post content. Exclude or include terms and posts. Search for related posts in single or multiple taxonomies and post types. Limit the search for related posts by date, number or post meta. Use your own HTML templates for display of the related posts. Extensive plugin documentation. Follows WordPress coding standards and plugin best practices. Highly Adjustable! For the following features you need to be somewhat familiar with WordPress hooks. The plugin documentation has many examples to help you along. Extended features: Use a persistent cache for the related posts query. (opt-in feature) Use the WordPress REST API to get related posts. (opt-in feature) Load related posts after the whole page has loaded (with Ajax). (opt-in feature) Use plugin functions in your theme templates to display related posts yourself. Use Filters to change the default behavior of the plugin. Follow this plugin on GitHub. Search the code reference See the FAQ to have related posts automatically display after the post content without using the shortcode or widget. Default usage for the shortcode is: [related_posts_by_tax] Attributes for the shortcode are: post_id taxonomies post_types posts_per_page order orderby before_shortcode after_shortcode title show_date before_title after_title include_terms include_parents include_children exclude_terms exclude_posts format gallery_format image_size columns caption link_caption limit_posts limit_month meta_key meta_value meta_compare meta_type public_only include_self post_class Example to show 10 related posts instead of the default 5. [related_posts_by_tax posts_per_page="10"] See the documentation for more information about these attributes. Translations Dutch French (by Annie Stasse) Spanish (by Ludobooks – Cuentos personalizados) Catalan (by Ludobooks – Cuentos personalizados) Polish (by koda0601)