To get the URL of the featured image (also known as the post thumbnail) in WordPress, you can use the get_the_post_thumbnail_url() function. This function retrieves the URL of the featured image for a given post.

Here’s how you can use it:

For a Specific Post ID

If you want to get the featured image URL for a specific post ID, you can pass the post ID as a parameter:

<?php
// Replace 123 with the ID of the post you want
$post_id = 123;

// Get the URL of the featured image
$featured_image_url = get_the_post_thumbnail_url($post_id, ‘full’);

// Output the URL
echo ‘Featured Image URL: ‘ . esc_url($featured_image_url);
?>


For the Current Post in a Loop

If you are within the loop or have a post object available and you want to get the featured image URL for the current post:

<?php
// Get the URL of the featured image for the current post
$featured_image_url = get_the_post_thumbnail_url(get_the_ID(), ‘full’);

// Output the URL
echo ‘Featured Image URL: ‘ . esc_url($featured_image_url);
?>

Parameters

  • get_the_post_thumbnail_url($post_id, $size):
    • $post_id (optional): The ID of the post. If not provided, it will use the current post in the loop.
    • $size (optional): The size of the image. The default is 'post-thumbnail'. Common sizes include 'thumbnail', 'medium', 'large', 'full', or a custom size registered in your theme. 'full' will give you the original image size.

Example Usage

Here is a full example in a WordPress theme template file to get and display the featured image URL:

<?php
// Check if the post has a featured image
if (has_post_thumbnail()) {
// Get the URL of the featured image
$featured_image_url = get_the_post_thumbnail_url(get_the_ID(), ‘full’);

// Display the image URL
echo ‘<img src=”‘%20.%20esc_url($featured_image_url)%20.%20′” alt=”‘ . get_the_title() . ‘”>’;
} else {
echo ‘No featured image available.’;
}
?>

This code snippet will display the featured image if it exists for the current post. If there is no featured image, it will show a message saying “No featured image available.”

By using these methods, you can effectively retrieve and display the featured image URL for posts in WordPress.