External Images featured image

External Images v3.42 - WordPress Plugin

Developer: WP IntenseCategory: WordPress PluginsTrusted with 4 downloadsProLatest v3.42Updated 1mo ago

Use external image URLs instead of downloading images to your WordPress website. Speeds up imports and allows you to have massive websites.

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Never have limits on how many images your site can have again. Image storage is the number one thing that slows down product imports and limits the size and scale achievable by affiliate stores or any large stores. With External Images, images can be hosted on any third-party website and presented on your site as thumbnail, featured image, image gallery and even product variations.

  • Works with all post types
  • Includes CSS image resizing or Photon on-the-fly image resizing
  • Includes full image gallery support
  • Supports all WooCommerce product types include images per variation and variation galleries
  • Speeds up imports – by avoiding importing images, you massively speed up your imports
  • Scale to millions of products – with no image storage restriction, you can build stores with millions or even billions of products on low-cost hosting
  • Includes support for Datafeedr product comparison tables and preventing Datafeedr from downloading images
  • Supports all import tools that allow you to set a custom meta field (e.g. WP All Import + all popular import tools)

Recent releases

Release history

View all 7 versions
v3.42LatestVerified Safe
Jul 29, 20261.7 MB
Fixed
  • the zoom and lightbox button disappearing after selecting a variation on a variable product.
  • the lightbox opening a variation image at the wrong size after switching variation.
Other
  • The hover magnifier now activates based on each image's real width, measured once the image loads.
  • The placeholder used when an image URL carries no dimensions now matches your store's configured single-product image width.
Jul 27, 20261.7 MB
View changelog
Fixed
  • clicking a product image opened the lightbox on a black screen. External images were published as 0 pixels wide, and WooCommerce's built-in PhotoSwipe lightbox sizes the enlarged image from that width, so it rendered at nothing. Affects the native WooCommerce gallery used by Divi and most other themes
  • the hover magnifier never activated on external images, for the same reason - WooCommerce only binds it when the image is wider than the gallery container
Other
  • Image dimensions are now taken from the image URL wherever the CDN or feed encodes them (`-800x600.jpg`, `?width=1500`, `?w=640&h=480`, Cloudinary `w_1200,h_800` and similar). When the URL says nothing, a placeholder in your store's own product aspect ratio is used instead. Neither costs a remote request, so imports and page loads stay as fast as before
  • The exact size is corrected in the browser once each image loads, so the lightbox opens at the image's true aspect ratio
  • Existing products are fixed automatically. A stored width of 0 is now treated as *unknown* and recalculated when it is read, rather than being trusted and published
Added
  • filters `ei_getimagesize`, `ei_placeholder_image_size` and `ei_configured_image_ratio` for overriding the published dimensions
Jul 24, 20261.7 MB
View changelog
Improved
  • super-speedy-settings to the latest version

Frequently asked questions

Is External Images GPL licensed?
Yes, External Images is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). You can legally use, modify, and redistribute it on unlimited websites.
What is the latest version of External Images?
The latest version of External Images on GPLCoffee is v3.42 (released Jul 29, 2026, 1.7 MB download size). Every new release is synced automatically, and subscribers can update directly from their WordPress dashboard with the one-click connector plugin.
How much does External Images cost on GPLCoffee?
External Images is available for $5.99 for a 1-year license or $15.99 for a lifetime license. Membership plans also include credit-based access so you can download External Images along with thousands of other plugins, themes, and PHP scripts for a single subscription.
Which WordPress and PHP versions does External Images support?
The current release of External Images requires WordPress 4.7 or higher, tested up to WordPress 6.4.2, PHP 7.0 or higher. Per-release compatibility details are listed in the version history.
Is External Images safe to download?
Yes. The latest release of External Images (v3.42) was scanned with VirusTotal and came back clean. Scan results are visible on each version page, and releases flagged as malicious are blocked from the catalog.

Auto-updates included

Install it once, update automatically.

The GPLC Connector installs this plugin from your wp-admin and rolls out new versions to your connected sites - up to 25. Included with 12-month and Geek Lifetime plans (plus legacy 6-month).