If you’re working with a complicated site then you may find that importing files and posts into WordPress is a bit of a black art – there are lots of places where things might go wrong. If the upload_url_path
value for your site has been manually changed, then this might cause problems with WP export files.
Q: why would you change
upload_url_path
?A: changing
upload_url_path
lets WordPress serve images etc. from a subdomain or different domain, which should improve site performance if you have an image-heavy site.
This is an example item entry from the WordPress eXtended RSS export file (this is a simplified entry, with most of the post data (comment status, stickiness, time, post ID etc. removed for clarity).
Triplets TripletsFri, 15 May 2009 20:20:12 +0000 http://iso200.com/simple/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dsc_63181.jpg 6
The problem is with this line:
The attachment url line doesn’t contain a protocol – either http
or https
– which is why my media import failed. A protocol isn’t needed when you change the upload_url_path
value – but it is needed when WP is importing media.
Solutions:
1. Post-export: grep the file – add a transport protocol to the url – i.e. http:
or https:
Don’t forget to add the :
after the protocol – the wp:attachment_url
line should now look like this:
<![CDATA[https://
2. Pre-export: check your media library settings and make sure a protocol is included:
NB: you only see these options in your Media Settings page if you have changed the value of upload_url_path
.