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Taxonomy Thumbnail

By GrÃ©gory Viguier

Content Management / Document Management & Downloads

Reviewed by Abdul Hameid

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Taxonomy Thumbnail Review - In-Depth Analysis

Easily add thumbnails to your taxonomy terms with this developer-friendly plugin. It enhances accessibility and integrates with the WordPress media library.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.16/10

User Rating

5/5 (based on 10+ reviews)

Active Installations

3,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin is meant for developers, it allows attaching a thumbnail to taxonomy terms.

The thumbnail can be added on term creation or later on the term edition page. The terms list has a column displaying the current thumbnail. The plugin uses the new media window, not the old thickbox. Extra efforts have been made to enhance accessibility.

Works with or without JavaScript. If JavaScript is enabled, thumbnails are set via ajax in the term edition window, no need to update the term.

By default, the UI is displayed for all public taxonomies, but this can be filtered. Template tags are provided for retrieving and displaying term thumbnails.

From WordPress 4.4, the term metas API is used to store data. The plugin is compatible with WordPress 3.5 and tested in WP 4.2.2+.

Comparing to Alternatives

Taxonomy Thumbnail stands out in its category with no direct feature compromises compared to similar plugins. It offers a focused solution for taxonomy thumbnails with a clean and effective approach.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Simple and easy to use with minimal setup.
Supports custom post types and taxonomies effectively.
Good documentation aiding developers.
Lightweight with no known security vulnerabilities.
Highly rated with consistent positive user feedback.

Weaknesses

No pro version or advanced premium features.
Limited to taxonomy thumbnail functionality only.
Lacks media attachment URL return feature as requested by some users.
No recent security updates since 2016, though no vulnerabilities found.

User Sentiment Analysis

With a perfect 5-star rating from all 10 reviewers, users consistently praise the plugin's ease of use and developer-friendly features.

Positive highlights

"Allows developers to easily extend thumb functionality for custom post types and custom taxonomies." — chomachomachoma
"So easy to use, writing this review takes longer than using and understanding the plugin." — Julio Potier
"Life saver plugins for me... +10 for support all of my Custom Terms automatically." — rahadur
"It works in Wordpress 5+" — Jennifer Eileen
"Cool work! Actually, I include it to suggested plugins selection for every my theme." — wpSpade

Common complaints

Weaknesses

No premium version with additional features.
Does not return media attachment URLs as some users desire.
No recent security updates though no vulnerabilities reported.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Developers and site owners needing a straightforward, reliable plugin to add thumbnails to taxonomies, especially those working with custom post types and custom taxonomies.

Not ideal for

Users seeking advanced image handling features, premium support, or frequent updates might find this plugin limited. Also, those requiring media URL returns instead of HTML may need alternative solutions.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers full functionality for adding and managing taxonomy thumbnails without restrictions.

Final Verdict

Taxonomy Thumbnail is a highly rated, easy-to-use plugin that effectively meets the needs of users wanting to add thumbnails to taxonomies, including custom types. Its simplicity and developer-friendly design make it a solid choice in its category.

While it lacks a pro version and some advanced features, it remains a secure and dependable option with no reported vulnerabilities. Users requiring more complex functionality may consider alternatives, but for straightforward taxonomy thumbnail needs, this plugin excels.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Taxonomy Thumbnail plugin.

taxonomy thumbnail

term thumbnail

image taxonomy

Screenshots

FAQ

If you use WordPress 4.4 or greater you don’t need to.
Otherwise, I think it’s the proper way to store this kind of data. Post thumbnails are stored in post metas, right? So term thumbnails should be stored in term metas.
But it requires a plugin, WordPress does not provide a term metas system before 4.4. On the other hand, I don’t want to force you to use a dependency, so I wanted my plugin to also work without it.