Why Are Images Not Loading After Deploying a Website?

If images work perfectly while developing your website but disappear after deployment, the problem is usually related to how the image files are referenced or included in the production build. The good news is that this is usually straightforward to diagnose.

First Check the Browser

Open your deployed website and inspect one of the missing images. Open your browser's developer tools and check the Network tab. Look for the image request. If the image returns a 404, the browser is requesting a file that the server cannot find. That immediately gives you a useful clue.

Check the Image Path

Look at how the image is referenced in your code. A path that works in development may not work after deployment if the file is not located where the production application expects it. Check the image location, the URL, the filename, the file extension, and whether the image is included in the build.

Check Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

This causes a surprising number of deployment problems. For example, your code might request /images/Logo.png while the actual file is logo.png. These may appear to work in some local development environments but fail on case-sensitive hosting environments. Make the filename and reference match exactly.

Check Whether the Image Was Included in the Build

Build your website and inspect the generated output. Look for the image. If the image is missing from the production output, the problem may be related to how the asset is being imported or copied during the build. Do not assume that every file in your project directory automatically gets deployed.

Check Relative Versus Absolute Paths

Consider a page located at /about. An incorrectly constructed relative path can cause the browser to request an unexpected URL. For example, a path intended to point to /images/logo.png could accidentally become a relative request based on the current page. Inspect the actual URL requested by the browser instead of guessing.

Check Your Public or Static Asset Folder

Many web frameworks provide a special directory for files that should be served directly. The name and behavior depend on the framework. If your project uses such a directory, make sure the image is placed there according to the framework's rules. For imported images, follow the framework's recommended import/build process.

Check the Image URL After Deployment

Copy the image URL from the browser and open it directly. If the image URL itself returns 404, you have an asset path or deployment problem. If the image URL works directly but the image does not appear on the page, inspect the HTML and CSS to see how the image is being referenced.

Check CSS Background Images

Not every missing image is an img element. Some images are loaded through CSS background-image. If the path inside your CSS is wrong, the image can disappear even though the rest of the page works. Inspect the Network tab to find the failed request.

Check Filename Encoding

Avoid unusual characters and spaces in asset filenames when possible. Simple names such as hero-image.webp are easier to reference consistently than filenames containing spaces or unusual symbols.

A Simple Troubleshooting Sequence

When images disappear after deployment, open developer tools, find the failed image request, copy the requested URL, open that URL directly, check whether it returns 404, check the filename, check uppercase/lowercase characters, check the image's location in the production build, check relative versus absolute paths, and rebuild and redeploy. This approach is much faster than randomly changing image paths.

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