Just like files and folders on your computer, WordPress folders play a vital role in building your site. They make sure that your content, themes, and plugins work properly without any errors.
Folders contain all the important data of your WordPress site. A single missing file/folder or a wrong attribute can put your entire website at risk. That’s why you should carefully consider before making any changes to your folders.
This article will show you the 5 best WordPress folder plugins to better manage files/folders and relieve worrying about any faults.
Let’s find out!
- A Quick Comparison of 5 WordPress Folder Plugins
- #1 Wicked Folders
- #2 Real Media Library
- #3 File Manager
- #4 Theme Editor
- #5 Prevent Direct Access Gold (PDA Gold)
- Bonus: Common WordPress Folder Errors and Solutions
A Quick Comparison of 5 WordPress Folder Plugins
For those who don’t know about the file and folder structure in WordPress, check out our beginner guide. We’ll give you a clear picture of WordPress files and folders, their locations, structures, and functionalities.
Before diving into the detailed plugin analysis, here’s a quick comparison of the top 5 WordPress folder plugins.
| Plugin | Main Function |
| Wicked Folders | Organize pages, posts, and custom post types in folders |
| Real Media Library | Organize media files in folders |
| File Manager | Edit and manage files and folders |
| Theme Editor | Modify and manage files in the Themes and Plugins folders |
| Prevent Direct Access Gold | Restrict access to file uploads in folders |
#1 Wicked Folders
Wicked Folders comes as an ultimate tool for WordPress content management. With its assistance, you can simplify your management process by organizing posts, pages, and custom post types into folders.
The coolest thing is that the plugin allows you to browse content by author, date, page hierarchy, and category. As a result, finding and filtering your content will no longer be a complicated task.
In addition, Wicked Folders does not change your content’s permalinks or hierarchy. So, you can organize your content any way you want independently of your site’s structure.
Key Features:
- Organize pages, posts, and custom post types into folders with a simple drag-and-drop tool.
- Control which post types can be organized using folders.
- Create and organize an unlimited number of folders.
- Support folder tree view.
- Allow bulk moving items to folders.
- Assign items to multiple folders.
- Resize and toggle folder pane.
- Create clone folders.
- Support folder search.
- Show the number of items assigned to each folder.
Price: The plugin doesn’t cost you a penny to use the content organization features. However, to organize media, users, plugins, and WooCommerce products in folders, you must install the Pro version at $49.
Active Installations: 20,000+
Ratings: 5.0/5.0 stars
#2 Real Media Library
Organizing a large number of file uploads in WordPress has never been so easy with Real Media Library. The plugin lets you organize and manage all your media files in folders, collections, and galleries effortlessly.
It gives you full control over your files and folders in one toolbar, including creating, renaming, deleting, and moving files. Plus, the plugin allows you to create shortcuts for your files in multiple folders. These excellent features make Real Media Library stand out from various plugins out there.
Key Features:
- Organize and sort files in folders by dragging and dropping.
- Create shortcuts for files in multiple folders.
- Create, rename, delete, and move files.
- Select and delete multiple folders at once.
- Filter files in the WordPress insert media dialog.
- Upload files directly to a chosen folder.
- Generate dynamic galleries from a folder with Gutenberg block or shortcode.
- Navigate to folders with a quick folder search.
- Support WordPress multisite and folder tree view for each site.
- Import categories/folders from other WordPress folder plugins.
Price: With the free version, you can generate unlimited main folders to organize your media files. Since it offers all the core features you can expect, upgrading to the Pro version may not be necessary.
The Pro package will come in handy when you desire to create and manage multiple subfolders. It costs you $39 for a Regular License on the Envato Market.
Active Installations: 60,000+
Ratings: 4.8/5.0 stars
#3 File Manager
File Manager is another powerful and flexible tool to manage WordPress files and folders. Unlike Real Media Library which only assists you to manage media files, File Manager supports all kinds of files. They include WordPress media files, content, plugins, themes, core files, and so on.
Besides the file organization feature, you can do plenty of things with the plugin. It authorizes you to edit, delete, upload, download, zip, and copy-paste files and folders directly from the WordPress backend. You don’t need FTP clients to manage files anymore.
Key Features:
- Copy, move, upload, create, rename, edit, delete files/folders, etc. in one admin dashboard.
- Drag & drop files and multiple files at once.
- Enable admins to create, archive, and extract files as a zip, rar, tar, and gzip.
- Support any size file uploads.
- Control what files can be uploaded and what files can be downloaded.
- Check syntax before saving files.
- Support multiple themes.
- Quickly share files by email.
- Edit the root path directory.
- Support icon and list view for easy navigation.
- Preview common media file types, including video, audio, mp3, and thumbnails.
- Offer search functionality.
- Automatically resize files once uploaded.
- Display browsing history.
- Backup and restore themes files, plugins files, uploads folder, and other important data on the server.
Price: The free version in the WordPress repository provides all the basic file management functions. To apply advanced features such as granting folder admin access to specific user roles, activate the Pro version at $25.
Active Installations: 900,000+
Ratings: 4.6/5.0 stars
#4 Theme Editor
Theme Editor is specially built for managing the Themes and Plugins files. You can edit, create, upload, and remove any files and folders in the Themes and Plugins folders. Thus, it’s easier to customize your site’s themes and plugins to your liking directly in the WordPress backend.
Key Features:
- Edit and manage Themes and Plugins files.
- Support PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Upload and download files in the Themes and Plugins folder.
- Support code mirror.
- Create new child themes.
- Duplicate existing child themes.
- Move files from parent themes to child themes.
- View all images of the selected theme.
Price: It’s available for free in WordPress. To configure user roles and user file/folder permissions, you have to pay for the Pro edition at $19.
Active Installations: 50,000+
Ratings: 4.7/5.0 stars
#5 Prevent Direct Access Gold (PDA Gold)
The PDA Gold plugin secures and restricts access to the media files on your WordPress site. In simple terms, it protects your files in the WordPress frontend. Unauthorized site visitors won’t be able to access your files under the plugin’s protection.
In addition to the file protection feature, it also protects your uploaded folders and folders on the WordPress root directory. Simply put, you can secure all the file uploads in a specific folder. Such a time saver!
Key Features:
- Protect all media file types.
- Secure certain file types.
- Support WordPress multisite.
- Redirect unexpected visitors to an error page.
- Block Google from indexing protected files.
- Restrict protected file access to logged-in users or paid members.
- Create file download links.
- Block private download link access by IP addresses.
- Prevent unwanted file sharing and downloading by user role permissions, link expiration time, and download limit.
- Grant access to protected files under WordPress folders based on referrer links.
Price: It costs you $14.90/month for advanced file protection. Notice that you need the File Access Restriction add-on ($69.9/year) to use the folder protection feature.
Active Installations: 7,000+
Ratings: 4.8/5.0 stars
Bonus: Common WordPress Folder Errors and Solutions
As a WordPress site owner, sometimes you can run into trouble with your folders. Since files and folders contain all the critical data of your site, these annoyances can cause far-reaching consequences. In this section, we’ll show you how to fix the 3 most popular WordPress folder errors.
File and Folder Permission Error: It’s essential to determine the file and folder permissions to secure your WordPress site. However, inappropriate changes can lead to the File and Folder Permission error.
To avoid this error from happening, it’s recommended to set your file and folder permissions as follows:
- Folders – 755
- Files – 644
- wp-config.php – 600
- .htaccess – 644, or 600
You can modify the user permissions via the FTP client or cPanel. For more details, refer to our article on 3 ways to fix WordPress File and Folder Permission errors.
“Destination Folder Already Exists” Error: WordPress doesn’t allow you to duplicate a plugin or theme. That’s why when attempting to add a plugin/theme which is already installed, you will encounter this error.
We’ve published a detailed guide on fixing the “Destination Folder Already Exists” error. Check it out for more information.
“Missing a Temporary Folder” Error: The temporary folder refers to a location where WordPress temporarily stores data before moving them to the desired location. Incorrect PHP settings in your WordPress hosting environment can be the culprit causing this error. The error also occurs when you accidentally delete the folder.
This is a severe problem stopping you from uploading images, adding new plugins, updating themes, or modifying anything. Your WordPress site is no different than a dead one.
If you’re struggling with this issue, don’t worry. Learn how to fix the “Missing a Temporary Folder” error here.
What is Your Ideal WordPress Folder Plugin?
We’ve introduced 5 hand-picking WordPress folder plugins with different functionalities. You can install more than 1 plugin to take full control over your WordPress site.
Wicked Folders comes as the best option to manage your WordPress content. If you aim to organize your media files, give the Real Media Library plugin a try.
Plan to edit and manage all your WordPress files and folders without using FTP clients? File Manager would be a potential nominee. Otherwise, activate the Theme Editor plugin to manage your Themes and Plugins folder.
Finally, don’t forget to protect your uploaded folders and files with the PDA Gold plugin.
Do you know any other great WordPress folder plugins? Don’t hesitate to share with us in the comment section below!
