Fixing the WordPress “Unable to Create Directory” Error

After moving from GoDaddy to SiteGround WordPress Hosting, I started writing a new post. When I tried to upload an image, this message appeared:

Unable to Create Directory wp-content/uploads. Is its Parent Directory Writable by the Server.

At first I thought the problem might be the permissions on the new server. I connected to my FTP server using FileZilla and checked the wp-content/uploads folder. The current month's folder was there. I still suspected that WordPress couldn't write to the parent folder, so I changed its permissions via FTP. I still couldn't upload files to the media library and kept getting the “Unable to Create Directory wp-content/uploads. Is its Parent Directory Writable by the Server” error when I tried to upload files, even after switching browsers.

How to solve “Unable to Create Directory wp-content/uploads. Is its Parent Directory Writable by the Server” error

WordPress was still using the uploads path from my old server. That path included my old server username. When I moved to the new server, my username changed, so WordPress was looking for a directory that didn't exist. Here's how to point it to the new uploads folder:

• Log in to your WordPress admin panel (wp-admin).
• In the left menu, go to Settings » Media.
• In the Store uploads in this folder field, enter wp-content/uploads and click Save changes.
• Now try uploading a file to the media library again.