Image Placeholders
Active Installs
60,000+
Last Updated
August 26, 2026
First Released
October 16, 2023
Download History (Last one month)
Contributors
This plugin determines and stores the dominant color for newly uploaded images in the media library within WordPress and then uses it to create a placeholder background of that color in the frontend, visible until the image is loaded.
This plugin was formerly known as Dominant Color Images.
Installation from within WordPress
- Visit Plugins > Add New.
- Search for Image Placeholders.
- Install and activate the Image Placeholders plugin.
Manual installation
- Upload the entire
dominant-color-imagesfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Visit Plugins.
- Activate the Image Placeholders plugin.
Feedback is encouraged and much appreciated, especially since this plugin may contain future WordPress core features. If you have suggestions or requests for new features, you can submit them as an issue in the WordPress Performance Team’s GitHub repository. If you need help with troubleshooting or have a question about the plugin, please create a new topic on our support forum.
The Performance team and WordPress community take security bugs seriously. We appreciate your efforts to responsibly disclose your findings, and will make every effort to acknowledge your contributions.
To report a security issue, please visit the WordPress HackerOne program.
Contributions are always welcome! Learn more about how to get involved in the Core Performance Team Handbook.
Changelog
1.3.0
Enhancements
- Add
declare( strict_types = 1 )to all PHP files. (2424) - Bump minimum required WordPress version to 6.9. (2517)
- Bump minimum required PHP version from 7.2 to 7.4. (2469)
- Improve code quality with native property types and stricter static analysis. (1729)
1.2.1
Bug Fixes
- Only attempt to get dominant colour for image mime types. (2264)
1.2.0
Enhancements
- Enhance admin media UI with dominant color support. (1719)
1.1.2
Enhancements
- Use more robust HTML Tag Processor for Image Placeholders. (1477)
Bug Fixes
1.1.1
Enhancements
- Avoid needless array allocation in rgb to hex conversion. (1104)
- Improve overall code quality with stricter static analysis checks. (775)
- Bump minimum PHP requirement to 7.2. (1130)
Bug Fixes
- Fix Imagick detecting partial transparency. (1215)
1.1.0
- Rename plugin to “Image Placeholders”. (1101)
- Use plugin slug for generator tag. (1103)
- Bump minimum required WP version to 6.4. (1062)
- Update tested WordPress version to 6.5. (1027)
1.0.1
- Exclude “.wordpress-org” directory when deploying standalone plugins. (866)
1.0.0
- Initial release of the Image Placeholders plugin as a standalone plugin. (704)
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