Query Posts WITHOUT Featured Image

Alkorr
(@alkorr)

9 years, 7 months ago
Hi, I would like to query posts which don’t have a featured image. I searched Google and the WP Forums with no success so far… All I can find is how to query posts WITH featured images…

I tried this code but I can’t make it work like I want:
```
	'post__not_in' => array( $thumb_id ),
	'exclude'     => get_post_thumbnail_id($id)
```
Thanks for your help!

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Adarsh Verma
(@shobhit2412)

9 years, 7 months ago

Hi @alkorr,
One thing you can do is, just add this condition check when the looping of the posts starts:

<?php if( !has_post_thumbnail() ){?> //Just after the loop starts
—-POST CONTENT—-
<?php }?> //Just before the loop ends

This will only print the posts that will not have the featured images.

Thanks!

Thread Starter Alkorr
(@alkorr)

9 years, 7 months ago

Hi Shobhit, thank you, it works but there is a downside to this code: not all my posts have a featured image, so I have a first loop in which I show 2 posts containing a featured image. It works fine. Now when I use your code to show 2 other posts with no featured image, I have to query 4 posts to get 2 showing… I guess it’s because your code ‘skips’ the posts with the featured image to only show the ones without it. If I query 2 posts, only one is showing. And since I’m not a coder, I have no idea how to make the query work properly.

Thanks again for your help 😉
Michael
(@alchymyth)

9 years, 7 months ago
try with:
```
$args = array( 
	'meta_key' => '_thumbnail_id', 	
	'meta_compare' => 'NOT EXISTS'
) 

$no_featured_image = new WP_Query( $args );
while ( $no_featured_image->have_posts() ) : $no_featured_image->the_post();
ETC.....
```
https://codex.wordpress.org/Class_Reference/WP_Query#Custom_Field_Parameters
Thread Starter Alkorr
(@alkorr)

9 years, 6 months ago
Hi Michael, thanks for your help but it doesn’t work, the query breaks my page, it’s all blank now…

Here’s my code:
```
<?php $args = array( 
	'posts_per_page' => 2,
	'post__not_in' => get_option( 'sticky_posts' ),
	'meta_key' => '_thumbnail_id', 	
	'meta_compare' => 'NOT EXISTS') 

$no_featured_image = new WP_Query( $args );
while ( $no_featured_image->have_posts() ) : $no_featured_image->the_post();
?>

My text

<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php wp_reset_query(); ?>
```
I don’t know what’s wrong… 🙁
- This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Alkorr.
- This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Alkorr.
MyThemeShop
(@mythemeshop)

9 years, 6 months ago
Hello,

There’s a syntax error with your code. Try
```
<?php $args = array( 
	'posts_per_page' => 2,
	'post__not_in' => get_option( 'sticky_posts' ),
	'meta_key' => '_thumbnail_id', 	
	'meta_compare' => 'NOT EXISTS'
);

$no_featured_image = new WP_Query( $args );
while ( $no_featured_image->have_posts() ) : $no_featured_image->the_post();
?>

My text

<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php wp_reset_query(); ?>
```
I hope that helps.
Thread Starter Alkorr
(@alkorr)

9 years, 6 months ago

Hi, it works great, thank you both very much for your help! 🙂