How to Install and Set Up WMark
This guide walks you through installing WMark, choosing a text or logo watermark, testing automatic watermarking on a new upload, and applying the watermark to images already in your Media Library.
- Version1.2.0
- PHP7.2 or newer (declared)
- Server libraryPHP GD (FreeType for text)
- FormatsJPEG, PNG, WebP
- Admin languageArmenian
1. Before you begin
WMark draws the watermark directly into your image files, so it permanently changes them. It saves a copy of each original before doing so, but you should still have your own backup.
- Back up your site, or at least the
wp-content/uploadsfolder, before using WMark on existing images. - Check that PHP GD is available. WMark uses the GD image library that comes with PHP. Most hosting plans include it. Text watermarks also need GD’s FreeType support. If either is missing, the WMark settings page shows a warning.
- The settings screen is in Armenian. In this English-language guide, menu items and setting names are translated from the Armenian plugin interface. Look for the corresponding controls in the plugin settings. For example: Position.
WMark 1.2.0 includes a site-setup module. When you activate the plugin, it immediately:
- creates up to eight published pages (Home, Blog, About, Contact, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Disclaimer, Cookie Policy). Their text is in Armenian.
- sets the page with the slug
homeas your site’s homepage and the page with the slugblogas your posts page, under Settings → Reading. This happens even if those pages existed before. - sets the page with the slug
privacy-policyas your site’s privacy page. - creates two menus and assigns them to empty theme menu locations, if your theme uses classic menus.
If you only want watermarking, install WMark on a test site first. After activation, check Settings → Reading, Pages and Appearance → Menus, and restore any settings you want to keep. Pages that already exist with the same slug are not overwritten. Unpublished pages with those slugs, including WordPress’s default draft privacy page, are filled with WMark’s text and published.
2. Install the ZIP file
- Download
wmark.zipfrom the download page. Do not unzip it. - In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin. On older WordPress versions this is Plugins → Add New.
- Click Upload Plugin at the top of the screen.
- Click Choose File, select
wmark.zip, then click Install Now.
Deactivate and delete the old plugin first. If both are active, WMark stays inactive and shows a reminder, so images are never watermarked twice. Your watermark settings carry over, because both versions store them in the same place.
3. Activate the plugin
After installation, click Activate Plugin. If you are already on the Plugins screen, click Activate under WMark – Automatic Image Watermark.
If the watermark type is set to logo and no logo has been chosen yet, the Plugins screen shows the notice WMark: choose a logo in settings (choose the logo in the settings), with a link to the settings page.
4. Find the WMark settings
WMark adds its settings page under the WordPress Settings menu. You can open it in either of two ways:
- go to Settings → Logo on images (Logo on images), or
- on the Plugins screen, click the Settings link under WMark.
The page address is /wp-admin/options-general.php?page=alw. Only administrators can open it, because it requires the manage_options capability.
Settings at a glance
| On-screen label | English meaning | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Watermark type | Watermark type | Logo only |
| Text | Text | Empty (uses your site’s domain) |
| Text color | Text color | #ffffff (white) |
| Text size | Text size, as a % of image width | 4 |
| Shadow | Shadow under the text | On |
| Logo | Logo image | None |
| Position | Position | Bottom right |
| Logo size | Logo size, as a % of image width | 20 |
| Opacity | Opacity, in % (100 = fully visible) | 80 |
| Distance from the edge | Distance from the edge, in % | 3 |
| Minimum width | Minimum image width, in px | 300 |
| Automatic | Automatic watermarking of new uploads | On |
Changes take effect only after you click Save at the bottom of the page.
5. Set up a text watermark
- Under Watermark type, select Text only.
- In Text, type your watermark, for example
© WBLOG.online. If you leave it empty, WMark uses your site’s domain name. - Choose a color in Text color. White works on most photos.
- Set Text size between 1 and 30. The value is the approximate letter height as a percentage of each image’s width. Values from 3 to 5 suit most photos.
- Keep Shadow checked if you want a soft dark shadow that keeps light text readable on bright images.
- Click Save.
The bundled font supports Latin, Armenian and Cyrillic letters. If a text is too long for an image, WMark shrinks it automatically so it stays inside the image.
6. Set up a logo watermark
The logo you upload is a normal Media Library image, so automatic watermarking can apply to it as well. If the type is set to text, or text plus logo, a logo file at least as wide as Minimum width (300 px by default) gets the text stamped on it. To avoid this, uncheck Automatic and save before uploading the logo. Turn it back on afterwards.
- Under Watermark type, select Logo only or Logo + text. In the combined mode, the text is placed under the logo.
- In the Logo row, click Choose / upload logo.
- In the media window, pick an existing image or upload a new one, then click Use this logo. A preview appears on the settings page.
- Set Logo size from 1 to 100. The value is the logo’s width as a percentage of each image’s width. The default is 20.
- Click Save.
Use a PNG or WebP logo with a transparent background. The logo must be a JPEG, PNG or WebP file. GIF and SVG logos are not supported. To stop using a logo, click Remove next to the preview and save.
7. Choose the watermark position
Pick one of seven positions in the Position dropdown:
| On-screen option | Position |
|---|---|
| Top left | Top left |
| Top center | Top center |
| Top right | Top right |
| Center | Center |
| Bottom left | Bottom left |
| Bottom center | Bottom center |
| Bottom right | Bottom right (default) |
Use Distance from the edge to move the watermark away from the edges. The value runs from 0 to 30 and is a percentage of the image’s shorter side.
8. Adjust transparency
Set Opacity to a whole number from 1 to 100. At 100, the watermark is fully visible. Lower values make it more see-through. The default is 80.
The same value applies to the logo and the text. Transparent areas of your logo stay transparent. For a subtle watermark, try 40–60. For strong protection, try 80–100.
9. Test automatic watermarking
- Make sure Automatic is checked, then save.
- Go to Media → Add New Media File and upload a test photo. On older versions this is Media → Add New. Use a JPEG wider than 300 px.
- Open the image in the Media Library and view the full-size file. The watermark should appear in the position you chose.
- If the result is not what you want, change the settings and follow the steps in Change the watermark later to re-apply it.
Your browser, caching plugin or CDN may still be showing a cached copy. Reload the image with the cache cleared, or open it in a private window.
10. Watermark existing images
Images uploaded before WMark was activated are not watermarked automatically. You can add the watermark to them in bulk.
- Go to Media → Library.
- Switch to the list view with the list icon at the top left. The bulk actions are not available in the grid view.
- Tick the images you want to watermark.
- In the Bulk actions dropdown, choose Add watermark, then click Apply.
- A message reports how many images were processed. Images that already have a WMark watermark are skipped.
Each image, together with all its generated sizes, is processed in a single request. Large selections can hit your server’s time or memory limit. Process 20 images per page, which is the WordPress default. Use Screen Options to show more only if your server copes well.
11. Change the watermark later
New settings apply only to images processed after you save. Images that already carry a WMark watermark are skipped, so they keep the old one. To re-apply a watermark with new settings:
- In Media → Library (list view), select the images.
- Choose Remove watermark (restore original) (Remove watermark, restore the original) and click Apply. WMark copies the saved original back and regenerates all image sizes.
- Select the same images again, choose Add watermark and click Apply.
Removal only works for images that WMark watermarked and whose saved original still exists. Read What happens to your original images before relying on it.
12. Troubleshooting
New uploads are not watermarked
- Check that Automatic is checked and that you clicked Save.
- For Logo only (Logo only), a logo must be selected. Without one, nothing is drawn.
- The file must be a JPEG, PNG or WebP image. GIF, AVIF, HEIC, SVG and other formats are skipped without a message.
- Images narrower than Minimum width (300 px by default) are skipped. Lower the value, or set it to 0 to process every size.
- Make sure the old “hanrapetutyun24” plugin is not active at the same time.
The text watermark does not appear, but the logo does
Your server’s GD library was built without FreeType. The settings page shows a warning in this case. Ask your hosting provider to enable FreeType support for PHP GD.
The settings page says PHP GD is not enabled
WMark cannot draw watermarks without GD. Enable the PHP gd extension in your hosting control panel, or ask your host to do it.
Thumbnails have no watermark, but large sizes do
This is expected. WMark checks every generated size separately, and sizes narrower than Minimum width are skipped. That includes WordPress’s default 150 × 150 thumbnails.
Upload fails or the bulk action stops part-way
Very large photos need a lot of memory to process. Lower the number of images per batch, resize huge photos before uploading, or ask your host to raise the PHP memory_limit and max_execution_time.
The watermark is too big, too small or cut off
Adjust Logo size (logo size), Text size (text size) and Distance from the edge (distance from edge). The logo’s height is limited to 90% of the image height, or 60% when text is also shown. Long text shrinks to fit. Then re-apply the watermark as described in step 11.
“Remove watermark” did nothing
Removal needs the original copy that WMark saved in wp-content/uploads/alw-originals/. Removal fails if that file was deleted, was not moved with your site during a migration, or the image was never watermarked by WMark. In that case, restore the image from your own backup.
Still stuck? Contact us. Include your WordPress and PHP versions, the image format and the settings you used.