Clickable Featured Image

Clickable Featured Image fixes a common WordPress problem: featured images often look clickable, but nothing happens when visitors click them.

Activate the plugin and featured images become useful links:

• On single posts and pages, featured images link to the full-size image file by default, which works well with common lightbox plugins.
• On archive pages, category pages, search results, and Query Loop blocks, featured images link to the post by default.
• If a theme or block already links the featured image, the plugin leaves it alone to avoid duplicate links.

The default setup is still zero configuration, but version 1.1.0 adds a small Settings screen for sites that need more control.

Features

• Make post featured images clickable
• Link single-post featured images to the full-size image file
• Link archive and Query Loop featured images to the post permalink
• Optional attachment-page or no-link behavior on single posts
• Optional no-link behavior on archives
• Enable only the post types you want
• Works with the core Featured Image block and Query Loop block
• Tested with GeneratePress, Twenty Twenty-Four, and common lightbox workflows
• Lightweight: no front-end JavaScript unless Meow/Lightbox compatibility is needed

When to use it

Use this plugin when:

• Your blog archive thumbnails should link to posts.
• Your single-post featured image should open in a lightbox.
• Your theme displays featured images but does not make them clickable.
• You want a small plugin instead of a full gallery or lightbox suite.

Settings

Go to Settings > Clickable Featured Image.

Available settings:

• Single posts and pages: full-size image file, attachment page, or do not link.
• Archives and query loops: post permalink or do not link.
• Post types: choose which public post types with featured image support should be affected.

Defaults match the original plugin behavior: single posts link to the full-size image and archive images link to the post.

1. Install the plugin from Plugins > Add New in your WordPress admin.
2. Activate the plugin.
3. Optional: go to Settings > Clickable Featured Image to adjust link behavior.

1. 

   Featured image on a single post linking to the full-size image for lightbox use.

2. 

   Featured images in an archive or Query Loop linking to their posts.

3. 

   Settings screen for single-post behavior, archive behavior, and post types.

1.1.0

• Added: Settings screen for single-post link target, archive link target, and enabled post types.
• Improved: WordPress.org description, screenshots, and positioning around clickable/linkable featured images.
• Improved: Added Text Domain plugin header for translation tooling.

1.0.13

• Fixed: Archive featured images using medium sizes no longer inherit browser sizes="auto" behavior that can render later lazy-loaded images much larger than the theme-requested size.

1.0.12

• Fixed: Explicitly reserves the configured WordPress thumbnail dimensions for archive thumbnails, preventing lazy-loaded images from expanding to full archive width before load.

1.0.11

• Fixed: Archive image links no longer force featured images to full container width, preserving theme-requested thumbnail sizes in GeneratePress archives.

1.0.9

• Fixed: Let Meow Lightbox re-register singular featured images by using wp-image-<id> classes instead of pre-setting data-mwl-img-id

1.0.8

• Fixed: Register singular featured-image containers with Meow Lightbox when themes render them outside .entry-content

1.0.7

• Fixed: Add data-mwl-img-id to singular featured images for Meow Lightbox compatibility

1.0.6

• Fixed: Prevent duplicate anchor tags on query loops when theme already wraps featured images

1.0.5

• Fixed: Added CSS to prevent layout spacing issues on archive pages with Twenty Twenty-Four theme

1.0.4

• Fixed: Avoid wrapping full block markup on archives by linking only the image/picture, reducing theme layout spacing issues

1.0.3

• Fixed: No longer breaks archive page links when theme already wraps images in links
• Fixed: Added proper URL escaping for security
• Tested compatibility with WordPress 6.9
• Updated minimum PHP requirement to 7.4

1.0.2

Fixed a syntax error in the plugin code that caused a parse error.

1.0.1

Updated stable tag and function names to follow guidelines for the Clickable Featured Image WordPress Plugin.

1.0

Initial release