How to Increase the Maximum Upload File Size in WordPress

You try to upload a theme or a chunky image and WordPress refuses: “the uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive”. That limit is set by PHP, not WordPress, and raising it takes a minute in cPanel.

Check your current limit

Go to Media → Add New in WordPress. The maximum upload size is shown right there. Many hosts default to somewhere between 8 MB and 64 MB.

Raise it with the MultiPHP INI Editor

This is the cleanest method on cPanel hosting.

1. Open MultiPHP INI Editor in cPanel.
2. Select your domain from the dropdown.
3. Set upload_max_filesize to something like 128M.
4. Set post_max_size to the same or larger value — it must be at least as big as the upload limit, or uploads still fail.
5. While you’re there, bump max_execution_time to 300 so large uploads don’t time out.
6. Click Apply.

Alternative: edit .htaccess

If you prefer, add these lines to your site’s .htaccess:

php_value upload_max_filesize 128M
php_value post_max_size 128M
php_value max_execution_time 300

If this causes a 500 error, your server doesn’t allow PHP values in .htaccess — remove them and use the INI Editor instead.

Alternative: php.ini

Some setups read a php.ini file in the site root. You can add the same three directives there. The INI Editor is easier, but this works if you’re editing directly.

Why post_max_size matters

People often raise upload_max_filesize and forget post_max_size. The whole POST request (file plus form data) must fit inside post_max_size, so keep it equal to or larger than the upload limit. Miss this and the fix appears to do nothing.

Refresh the Media → Add New page to confirm the new limit. If it hasn’t budged after using the INI Editor, drop us a line and we’ll raise it at the server level.