After installed a laravel website on shared hosting how do you get image to display?

2 min read 19-10-2024

After installed a laravel website on shared hosting how do you get image to display?

Setting up a Laravel application on shared hosting can sometimes present challenges, especially when it comes to displaying images. If you're encountering issues with images not displaying after installing your Laravel website on shared hosting, don't worry! This article will guide you through the common pitfalls and solutions to ensure your images show up correctly.

Understanding the Problem

After installing a Laravel website on shared hosting, you may find that images fail to display on your site. This issue can arise due to incorrect file paths, permission settings, or configuration settings within your Laravel application.

Common Reasons Images May Not Display

File Paths: One of the most frequent problems is incorrect file paths. Ensure the paths to your images are relative to the public directory, as Laravel serves files from this directory.
Directory Permissions: Shared hosting environments often have strict file permission settings. If the permissions for your storage or public directories aren't set correctly, your images may not load.
Environment Configuration: Ensure your .env file is correctly configured and that your APP_URL points to your live site.

Example Problem Scenario and Solution

Let's say you have the following Laravel controller method that serves images:

public function showImage($filename)
{
    $path = public_path('images/' . $filename);
    
    if (!File::exists($path)) {
        abort(404);
    }
    
    return response()->file($path);
}

In this code snippet, the application attempts to serve an image from the public/images directory. If your images are located elsewhere or if the images folder is not correctly placed in the public directory, the images will not display.

Solutions to Ensure Images Display Correctly

File Structure: Ensure that your images are stored in the public/images directory. This structure allows Laravel to serve them directly.
```
- your-project/
    - app/
    - public/
        - images/
            - your-image.jpg
    - storage/
    - .env
```
Set Correct Permissions: Make sure that the public directory and its subdirectories have the correct permissions. A common permission setting is 755 for directories and 644 for files. You can change permissions via FTP or your hosting provider's file manager.
```
chmod 755 public/images
chmod 644 public/images/your-image.jpg
```
Use the Asset Helper: When referencing images in your Blade templates, it's best practice to use the asset helper function. This ensures that your application generates the correct URL for the assets:
```
<img src="{{ asset('images/your-image.jpg') }}" alt="Description of Image">
```
Check Browser Console: Open your browser's developer console to check for any 404 errors. This will help identify if the image paths are correct and if there are permission issues.

Practical Example

Imagine you have an image named example.jpg that you want to display on your Laravel website. First, make sure it's located in public/images. Then in your Blade template, you could write:

<img src="{{ asset('images/example.jpg') }}" alt="Example Image">

After following the above steps, refresh your webpage. The image should now display correctly!

Conclusion

Getting images to display on your Laravel application hosted on shared hosting doesn't have to be a daunting task. By ensuring your file paths are correct, adjusting permissions, and leveraging Laravel's built-in functions, you can resolve the issue efficiently.

Additional Resources

By following this guide, you'll be better equipped to handle image display issues in your Laravel projects, providing a smoother experience for your users. Happy coding!