Home page ‘Featured Image’ selection not enabled

  • Unknown's avatar
    virtualbeard6a332a0066 · Member ·

    Apparently, Home pages that are created by a Template do not allow a ‘Featured Image’ option. There is no means to open a ‘Page’ settings in the righthand editing mode as can be used for all other pages. Please fix that.

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • staff-robz · Staff ·

    Hi there, thanks for posting!

    I reviewed what you’ve shared, and I think I understand what you’re talking about. That being said, if the below does not address your request, please share what you’re trying to do in more detail, and we’ll take it from there.

    What you’re experiencing is a known limitation of how Full Site Editing (FSE) themes work in WordPress at this moment. When your homepage is built directly from a template in the Site Editor (such as a “Front Page” or “Blog Home” template), it functions as a structural template rather than an actual WordPress Page. Because of this, it doesn’t have post-level metadata like the Featured Image — which is why you won’t see the “Page” settings panel with that option in the right-hand sidebar.

    This is a core WordPress behavior, not specific to WordPress.com — there’s an open issue in the Gutenberg project to address this, but it hasn’t been resolved yet.

    In the meantime, here’s a workaround that gives you the Featured Image option on your homepage:

    1. Go to Pages → Add New and create a page called “Home” (or any name you prefer)

    2. In the right-hand sidebar, click Featured Image and set your desired image

    3. Under Template, select your existing homepage template (e.g., “Front Page”)

    4. Publish the page

    5. Go to Settings → Reading

    6. Set “Your homepage displays” to “A static page”

    7. Set “Homepage” to your new “Home” page and save

    This way, your homepage is backed by a real WordPress Page (with a Featured Image) while still using your existing template design. The Featured Image will then be available for SEO, social sharing previews, and other purposes. As a reminder, you can verify (and change) which template the page you’ve set up is using by following the steps in this guide.

    Hope this helps! As your site is hosted on a paid plan on WordPress.com, remember that the forum is just one of the contact options you have at your disposal. Let us know if you run into any issues with the steps above via chat or email, if that’s more convenient.

Log in or create an account to reply