Recently I saw that Seth Godin mentioned Craigslist does not support picture hosting. It seems silly since pictures really help you sell and advertise – key Craigslist functionality.
He suggested that Craigslist could write a FAQ on how to post photos there. Considering I frequently recommend that people advertise in their local Craigslist, I am often describing how to put images on those ads.
How to Post an Image or Picture on Craigslist
So, you don’t know how do get a picture on to Craigslist. That’s OK, it’s easy to do. Here’s your step-by-step guide on putting images up there to really make those submissions stand out.
Step 1: Get the Picture On-Line
You need to have a picture on-line already before you can put it on Craigslist. The easiest and best way is if you already have the picture on your own website. If you don’t have your own website, don’t worry. There are plenty of other free places out there you can put your picture on.
Some things you need to keep in mind when getting that image on-line:
- You must own the image. Stealing other people’s or website’s images is illegal.
- The image must be sized right so it will fit and load quickly.
- The image must be accessible to everyone.
Remember, some places that host images like MySpace or Facebook will not work because those sites do not provide access to those images for everyone. If you want to use an image on a site like Facebook, you will have to move it to a place where it is accessible to everyone. That’s why I really recommend using your own website for hosting the image; you’re in control of everything.
Free Places to Host Your Image
If you can’t put a picture on your website, don’t worry. The steps are the same after this one. There are some free places out there. Try Posterous or Flickr or Picassa. Get your picture on one of those places and write down the location you uploaded it to.
If you are using Flickr to host your images, check out this guide on how to put Flickr Images on Craigslist.
Your own Picture Hosting.
If you have your own website, this is very simple. Just upload the photo and write down the location.
Either way
You should be able to take the location (URL) of that photo – on your own site or someone else’s – and paste it into a new browser and see it.
Example:
- Locate the picture on your website.
In my case I am going to use the one above. - Write down the location.
This one is athttp://www.CharlotteWebDevelopment.com/Charlotte_Website_Design_Logo.jpg. You’re might be on your own site.
Step 2: Create an HTML Image Tag
Yes, this is coding. But it’s really, really easy! Trust me! You have the location of your image from Step 1, right?
Create an HTML Image tag. That is what will let the browsers know where to look for the image. Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit. In fact, you can just copy this code below and change the URL to be your website and file name.
The code for the image tag is:
<img src="http://www.CharlotteWebDevelopment.com/Charlotte_Website_Design_Logo.jpg">
Step 3: Put it in Your Craigslist Post
Now all you have to do is put that code into your Craigslist post as shown in this picture:
After Craigslist publishes your item, you will get a result like the one below:
Hopefully, that all made sense. If not, never worry. I’m here to help. Just write a comment below telling me what your sticking point is and I’ll help you out. If you got it to work, share your success below!
As always, if you have any other website questions at all, please let me know and I’ll do my best to help out. If you’d like to get free tips like this delivered to you via email, please put your address in the form at the top of the page. That will stay absolutely private, I promise. Thanks for reading!
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Hi
I been trying to add a photo to my cl add using your instructions but continue to get the red X. Ive even reduced the pic size to about 170kb. If you have any ideas that would be great. Thank you.
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/sks/2832991016.html
I havent completed my add yet waiting to get pic figured out.
Ive tried to add my picassa web address but the comments section wont display it. Ill try without the “img src” part.
https://picasaweb.google.com/110488273840005466878/DropBox#5704989454372987458
Rick, Picassa is a tricky one. You have to right click on the image to see what the real file is. For example, the link you pasted isn’t an image – it’s a page. You can tell because there is no file type associated with it. Ex. It doesn’t end in .jpg, .gif, ..png, etc.
When I go to your album, the first image I see is this one: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-amiR8u8Y-f0/TywxrrNAYkI/AAAAAAAAACM/lX4T6jev9o0/s800/927.jpg
Try putting that image in the code and let me know how it works out.
I am just writing to say a big thank you to you
I have been trying to figure it out for a while and just thought why not Google it. Tada, there you were, and here you are helping me and so many others out. Thanks a million! This website is priceless!
All the best!
Very welcome, Katherine! Let me know if there are any other guides I could write that would be helpful.
I followed your instructions and signed up on flickr and it did not .
Yvette, If you are putting a Flickr Image on Craigslist, try these instructions here:
http://www.charlottewebdevelopment.com/2011/04/06/how-to-put-a-flickr-image-on-craigslist/
Ted,
I have been trying all morning to post a picture ad in the Events section of Craigslist, but have had no luck. I have tried very deligently to follow your instructions and I keep getting the dreaded icon with the big red “X”. As you instructed, I uploaded my image to Flickr and copied the address to add to the code that you posted. I got nothing. I also tried with the same picture I uploaded to Facebook, but that didn’t work for me either. My Flickr picture is located at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickatnite/6731127397/in/photostream/
Will you be able to assist me?
Thanks for your time and assistance.
Rick Stanley
Rick,
I’m sorry you’ve been having such a rough time. Flickr images can be tricky. Did you check out my special guide just for Flickr images here?
http://www.charlottewebdevelopment.com/2011/04/06/how-to-put-a-flickr-image-on-craigslist/
Now that was SMOKIN’ easy!!! Thanks for the assist.
I really appreciate it.
Sweet! Glad it worked. Let me know anything else I can help out with.
Thanks Guys this worked great!
Glad to be of help, GH!
Thanks for the help!
Glad to help, Andi! Let me know if there are any other website development tips you’d like to read about.
How do i link my craigslist ad directly to my contact page on my website. Keep in mind im using my website to host the craigslist images also..
Thanks in advance
Hi Travis,
Like the site. I’ll write a post about how to do this soon. In short, you need to make a hyperlink tag instead of the image tag show above.
Start with the following:
<a src="http://www.CharlotteWebDevelopment.com/SomeLinkHere">The text you want to be linked</a>Just replace the part I have in quotes after src= with the address of your contact page and the link will go to that page. You can change the wording that appears linked by editing the part in the middle.
Let me know if that works for you!
Travis,
I wrote a much more detailed description on how to do this here: http://www.charlottewebdevelopment.com/2012/01/14/how-to-link-your-craigslist-ad-directly-to-your-website/
Great! Thank you so very much! I had no idea case mattered in folders!
Cheers!
Denise
Glad it worked out! All the best for a great 2012.
Hi Denise,
Your code didn’t come through for security reasons. Can you post a link to your ad and I’ll take a look at it?
Hi,
Sure – here it is:
http://portland.craigslist.org/nco/vac/2766182060.html
Thanks!
Denise
Denise,
I see what’s happening here! The image tag you made is correct. The problem seems to be that you wrote the wrong folder name in the link. Change the Craiglist photo link to IMAGES from images and it will work.
More detail:
This is the image your craigslist code is referencing: http://www.windowsonthesea.com/images/condo_afternoon_sun_craigslist.jpg
This is the image I’m guessing you based it on your website:
http://www.windowsonthesea.com/IMAGES/condo%20afternoon%20sun.jpg
Do you see how the link you made in the Craigslist code has the middle directory name in lower case but your actual one is in all Caps?
That should do it!
Hi,
I appreciate the help you have given others on this, perhaps you can help me?
Here is the code I’m using to try to embed an image in my craigslist ad. I did make it smaller and saved it on my site at 700 pixels wide and still no luck.
Nothing appears, not even a box.
Thanks for any advice you have for me!
Denise
i found a way to resize the photos, but it only resizes them in photobucket
Danny,
Try this: Resize the photos on your local computer and then upload them to Photobucket. Then use those smaller ones in your Craigslist ad.
Let me know how it goes!
I was able to post the images in the Craigslist ad on the first try, thank you! BUT they were huge!!! I used photobucket. on that site, there isnt really an indicator of the size, that i saw. is there anything i can do to redo them in a more normal size? i have and own all the pics.
thanks!
how do you paste large pictures in the body text area of craigslist where the literature goes?
Seems I can’t copy and paste…doesn’t highlight that option
thanks
Vinni
Vinnie,
Just copy the code that I have written in the article above and paste it into the literature section by pressing ctrl+v. Does that work for you?
Hi I am trying to post a few pictures from Picassa to my craigslist add. I am having trouble finding the picture address. I can’t find anything ending in .jpg. Also, I noticed you commented on someones web site and their search engine rankings. My brother did my website and I’m not sure what he used but I was wondering if there are ways to boost rankings too? Anyway.. that’s a little off topic but I’ll share my craigslist add and try whatever you could suggest to find the address to the .jpg on picassa. Thank you in advance for your long dedication to helping us newbies!
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/evs/2750395696.html
No problem, Craig. Glad to help!
By the looks of your Craigslist ad, you got the Picassa image to show. Congratulations!
As for boosting search engine rankings, I have written a lot on this topic as well. The best place to start is this page here: http://www.charlottewebdevelopment.com/articles/
I’ve highlighted a bunch of great articles on search engine rankings there.
If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I’ll see what I can do.
PS That is a beautiful website. Your brother did a good job1
Craig, Check out today’s article on boosting your search engines rankings here:
http://www.charlottewebdevelopment.com/2012/01/23/how-do-i-drive-traffic-to-my-website-through-search-engines/
to add to my previous post
link that does not work: ofcourse you have to add the hopefully this will show on post this time?
http://octiguy.posterous.com/84871740
Link that does work
http://www.classicalterations.com/images/DSC01977.jpg
how come the code for posting images does not show up on my posts?
I disabled a lot of HTML in the comments so people won’t abuse my site. Just describe what you are doing without the images as a work around.
flickr worked much easier than other site !
Glad it worked!
Hello.
I first want to thank you for taking time to help strangers! that is cool.
I was having the same problem as everyone else with posting pics on craigslist. I used your method with the source code and used http://posterous.com to host my pics. When I posted on craigslist I got a “broken link”. I then redid the code with a .jpeg off my site and my http ended with a .jpeg and the whola it worked.
so if your code looks like this: (it will not work, must end in .jpg)
Now if your code looks like this: (it WILL work) hope this helps some people
To solve my problem I will try an alternate site than posterous.com.
My next step is to try flickr and see if their links will end in .jpg and hopefully solve my issues.
ciao.
Merry Christmas!
2011
Posterous is another great solution!
Dumb question alert!
How do I make an HTML image tag?
No dumb questions, Nadu. Look at the post above. Look for the line where I say “The code for the image tag is:”
Just below that in a gray box is the example code. Copy that code and replace the location part with the location of your image.
I put in a picture and decided to change. I clicked on delete below the picture and now can’t get another image to come up when I select using the same method used when I put in first picture.
Yvonne,
I am really confused on what you mean by clicking delete. Can you share your ad with me in the comments here? That way I can see what’s going on.
hi! im trying to add an image to my craigslist acct, but am not sure if im doing it correst because every time i try it just gives me the red X picture. The website my image is on is at http://www.bonqo.com/listing/52428/best-hardscaping-company-around
Please help!
Hi Thea,
Please respond with the address of your craigslist ad. That way I can see what’s going on with the code there.
do we have any software for avoiding the ghosting and flagging the when we post the multiple ads on the Craigslist
if we have anything as such please send the details to my email address
shivakrishna761@gmail.com
No, Shiva. I’d recommend just playing by Craigslist rules. They only flag people who are abusing the system.
hey do we have any software which will avoid the ghosting and flagging when we post the multiple adds on Craigslist
Hello,
I am following the steps and it is coming out blank. I am trying to put 4 pictures up. Here is one of them, http://www.flickr.com/photos/64843899@N04/6215978147/in/photostream/
I am putting
but its not working.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
Heather
Heather,
That’s a common problem. What you have there is a link to a page, not an image. Do you see how your link ends with a ‘/’ instead of a file type like .jpg or .gif? You need to use code that ends in an image file type.
Try following the instructions I made on this page for displaying Flickr images on Craigslist: http://www.charlottewebdevelopment.com/2011/04/06/how-to-put-a-flickr-image-on-craigslist/
I put the following in the craigslist ad and what is showing up is text and two icons…no photos:what did I do wrong??
For more information regarding this vehicle visit our <a href="http://www.more-skinnyusedcars.com” title=”More-Skinny Used Cars”<
Carey, Can you reply with the exact ad you have? I need to see the code.
I am guessing that you are linking to items that are not images. Be sure the image code references a file that ends in .jpg or something similar.
Thank you so much for the help! I don’t know the first thing about html and code and I was really getting frustrated not being able to add pictures to my posting. The directions were easy to follow and now my post is a lot more exciting. Thanks much!
Welcome, Johnny. Let me know how else I can help.
Hi!
I followed your instructions (correctly, I think), but the craigslst ad just displyes the link to my ad image, not the ad image itself. I usedFileSwap.com to host my image there.
Can you help?
Thanks!
Alice
Alice, can you reply with a link to your ad? It’s hard to determine the problem without looking at the code.
Hi I would like to find out how I can post my website to craigslist not a link to my website I would like when they click my ad on craiglist my website appears not a redirect
can you please let me know how I can do this Thank You Rick
There is no legal way to do that Rick. Why not just take the time to write a great ad that directs people to your website if they are interested?
Hi,
I’m hoping this still gets to you, as the date on this blog is very old. My name is Heidi and I’ve been trying my best to follow your instructions on adding a picture to my ad on C.L. I am a professional pet sitter/boarder and I am able to add pics to the “Pet” section on C.L. However, the “Pet Services” section does not support image downloads. So, I not only went onto my website and copied the image link from there…and then pasted it both using your “code” in front of the image file and without your code (as I went into my competitors ad w/images and they did not show this code being used) but I also went into other sites who have my logo and copied their image source…all that showed up was the link in blue each time. Please tell me what I’m doing wrong.
Very Frustrated! ;*/
Heidi,
Canyou share your craigslist ad? That will help me see exactly what is wrong.
Heidi,
I noticed that you are using WordPress. Excellent! If you go to a post you can just copy the code that WP uses for embedding an image in your site. Just be sure to go to the code view of the post to get it.
Sorry about that – for some reasonit did not post the code – I took it out of the –
img src=”http://www.mariastrokasycarros.com/drivetime_ad_opt.jpg” alt=”Momentum Mazda De Fairfield” width=”1158″ height=”1310″
Thanks,
Mark
Mark,
It looks like there are bad permissions on that file. If you copy and paste the URL of the image, you get an error. See if you can change the permissions there.
Hi There…
Love your blog – read through it to see if anyone else had the same issue –
I do not know why this is happening, as I have followed every instruction – and even refreshed my browser…
I want to EMBED an image in a Craig’s List ad –
The complete source code I am using is:
drivetimeopt.jpg is posted on this server.
The Craig’s List ad URL – this is what happens:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ctd/2544963012.html
HELP!! Thanks,
Mark
Not sure, Mark. Can you try uploading to Picassa instead?
I have been looking for a very long time on how to add images to my craig-listings! Thank you for this wonderful tip!
VWillis
Very welcome, Valerie! If you have any suggestions for other how-to articles, let me know.
Thanks for posting this! Just what I needed with no hassles, you are a gem to post this up!
Very welcome, Ziesler!
Hello… I use to be able to post images and now It does not work on craigslist… please help!
here is the code I am using but nothing! Just the image box with no picture what can I be doing wrong….PLEASE!
HERE IS THE AD
http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/reb/2487890006.html
Looks like you got it working, Albert! Congrats!
My email has photos I would like to upload to a Craig’s list “for sale” ad.
I have downloaded the photos to folders in both My Documents and My Computer-Shared documents. Neither will let me post images on Craigslist, even though I am able to retrieve them from the Shared documents.
Your suggestions or help would be appreciated greatly. Thanks.
A computer amateur, Lynn Firestone
Lynn,
You need to upload those pictures to a server connected to the internet. Can you try uploading pictures to the free Picassa or Flickr services and following my instructions from there?
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