How to upload images and other files — Add Media

In short. Go to Media → Add Media, toggle WebP conversion on before uploading, then drag your files onto the drop zone or click to browse. SGEN processes each file and adds it to your media library ready to use in pages, posts, and products. Upload once — attach anywhere.

On this page: What it's for · Scope and limits · Before you start · Steps · What success looks like · Troubleshooting · Examples

What is this for?

The Add Media page does one job: accept new files and place them in your media library — the single central store that every other part of SGEN (pages, blog posts, emails, product listings) reads from.

Upload a file once here, and any content on your site can reference it without re-uploading. Renaming, replacing, or deleting a file later is handled on that file's own edit page — not here.

Scope

The Add Media page handles one job: accepting new files and adding them to the media library. All other file management — metadata editing, replacement, bulk re-attachment, deletion — happens elsewhere.

Good use cases

• Uploading hero images, PDFs, or videos before linking them to pages or posts.

• Drag-and-dropping an entire folder of campaign assets in one batch.

• Adding a downloadable PDF (menu, line sheet, brochure) before linking it from a page.

What NOT to use this for

• Replacing an existing file — use the file's own detail page → Replace file. Re-uploading via Add Media creates a duplicate instead.

• SVG files — SGEN does not accept SVGs. Convert to PNG first.

• Files over 10 MB — compress or trim first, or contact support to raise the limit.

• Unsupported types — accepted: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, MP4, MOV, AVI, PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX. Everything else is rejected.

• Batch metadata import — use Media Library → Import / Export for CSV-driven metadata changes across many files.

• Editing title, caption, or alt text — those live on the per-file edit page after upload.

How this connects to other features

• Media Library — your uploaded files appear here immediately, searchable and filterable by type.

• Page builder and Blog editor — the media picker inside every editor reads from this library; files uploaded here are instantly available to attach.

• Media Library Settings — set global defaults (WebP conversion, compression) once so you don't have to toggle them on every upload. The Add Media page lets you override those defaults per upload.

• Per-file edit page — rename, replace, set alt text, or delete a file by clicking into it from the library.

Before you start

• Size: files must be under 10 MB. Photos from a camera or phone are often larger — use your photo app's "export for web" or "share at smaller size" option before uploading.

• Type: accepted formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, MP4, MOV, AVI, PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX. SVGs are not accepted.

• Filenames: SGEN normalizes filenames to URL-friendly form — spaces and special characters become hyphens, so My Cool Photo (final).JPG becomes my-cool-photo-final.jpg. If the filename matters, rename before uploading.

Where to go

From the SGEN admin sidebar, click Media to open the Media Library, then click the Upload (or + Add New) button in the top-right. You can also bookmark /sg-admin/media/add_new directly.

Steps — Upload your first file

1. Open the Add Media page

Click Media in the sidebar, then click Upload (top-right of the Media Library). You will see a "Upload Media" heading and a large drop zone. If the drop zone does not respond, try a different browser or disable extensions — the drag-and-drop zone requires a modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, recent version).

2. Choose your files

Drag files (or an entire folder) from your computer onto the drop zone, or click inside it to open a file picker (Shift/Ctrl+click to select multiple). SGEN queues all matching files; unsupported types in a folder are skipped with a notice showing how many were rejected.

3. (Optional) Adjust conversion and compression

Below the drop zone, the defaults are Format: Original and Compression: Off. Switch format to WebP to have SGEN convert images to a smaller modern format on the way in — recommended for any image going on a public page. Enable compression (Low / Medium / High) only if files are very large; WebP conversion alone is the right balance for most product photos and hero images.

To apply these settings automatically every time, set them once on the Media Library Settings page — you can still override per upload.

4. Click Upload Files

Click the blue Upload Files button. The page shows per-file progress. When done, SGEN returns you to the Media Library with your new files at the top of the list.

If one file fails, the rest continue — the page tells you which files were rejected and why so you can fix and retry just those.

What success looks like

You are back in the Media Library with your new files at the top of the list, showing filename, size, type, and upload date. If you enabled WebP conversion, image files will show their new WebP size — typically 25–50% smaller than the original.

The counter pills (All / Images / Videos / Documents) update immediately. If you uploaded four files and All went up by four, everything uploaded. Files are immediately attachable to pages and posts; click any file now to set alt text, or leave that for later.

What to do if it does not work

The page will not load and shows a login screen. Your session has expired. Log back into SGEN and try again — your tab will keep the URL.

You see "Page not found". You are at the wrong URL. The correct path is /sg-admin/media/add_new. Go back to the Media Library via the sidebar and click Upload from there.

The drop zone does not respond when you drag files in. Refresh the page once. If it still does not respond, try a different browser window or disable browser extensions temporarily. If the issue continues across browsers, contact support with a screenshot.

A specific file is rejected. Check that the file is one of the accepted types and is under 10 MB. If it is an SVG, convert to PNG. If it is a document over 10 MB, save a slimmer copy.

The upload bar fills but the file does not appear in the library. SGEN inspects file content, not just the extension — it rejects files where the two disagree. Re-export the file from its original program and try again.

You enabled WebP but the file in your library is still a JPG. Confirm the file is an image (videos and documents are not converted) and that you toggled WebP before clicking Upload Files. The setting must be active at the moment you click — not after.

The breadcrumb links to "404 not found". This is a known cosmetic issue on the Add Media page. Use the left sidebar to navigate instead. Engineering is aware.

Your file appears with an auto-generated name. SGEN normalizes filenames to URL-friendly form — spaces and special characters become hyphens. Rename the file on your computer before uploading if the exact name matters.

Examples

Three scenarios from Your Store — single file, batch with WebP, and PDF replacement.

Example 1: Single product photo

The marketing lead at Your Store drags a 2.4 MB JPG onto the drop zone, leaves format set to Original (already optimized), and clicks Upload Files. Two seconds later the file is in the library. She clicks into it to add alt text, then attaches it to the product page from the page builder's media picker. Under a minute, start to finish.

Full detail: Browse the Media Library — clicking into a file from the library is covered there.

Example 2: Batch upload with WebP conversion

A marketing manager has 12 lifestyle photos in a folder on her desktop. She drags the entire folder onto the drop zone, switches format to WebP, and clicks Upload Files. All 12 upload in about 30 seconds, each as a smaller WebP. She adds alt text to the three she needs now and leaves the rest for later. If one file had been over 10 MB, only that file would have failed — the other 11 would have uploaded normally and she would have seen which one was rejected.

Example 3: Replacing a PDF

Your Store posts a seasonal PDF catalog on the About page. When the new season's catalog is ready, the admin goes to the Media Library, finds seasonal-catalog.pdf, and uses Replace file on that file's detail page — not Add Media. The replacement keeps the same filename and database row so the page link updates automatically, no re-attaching needed. He then opens Add Media separately to upload three genuinely new behind-the-scenes photos. That split — Add Media for new files, per-file Replace for updates — keeps the library tidy.

Tips

Turn on WebP site-wide. Set WebP conversion as the default in Media Library → Settings so you never have to toggle it per upload.

Drag entire folders. The drop zone recursively queues every allowed file inside; unsupported types are skipped with a notice.

One failure doesn't kill the batch. If one file is rejected, the rest continue uploading — fix and retry just the failed files.

Pre-name your files. SGEN normalizes filenames to URL-friendly form (spaces and special characters become hyphens). Rename before uploading if the exact filename matters.

Camera photos are often over 10 MB. Use your photo app's "export for web" option before uploading — most apps have this in their Export or Share menu.

Short video clips only. SGEN handles clips well. For longer videos, use a third-party streaming service (such as YouTube or Vimeo) and embed the player on your page.

Accepted file types

Vocabulary

Next steps

• Browse the Media Library — view, search, and filter all uploaded files; click any file to rename, replace, set alt text, or delete.

• Configure media library defaults — set WebP conversion, image resizing, and compression as site-wide defaults so you never have to toggle them per upload.

• Upload files to the media library — alternative paths and bulk-upload flows.

• Replace an existing file — go to the Media Library, click the file, and use the Replace file option on its detail page. This swaps the file without changing the URL or breaking any references.

• Insert into a page or post — use the media picker inside the page builder or blog editor; it reads from this same library and shows your newly uploaded files immediately.