Deleting an image from a post or page is a confusing process. When you upload an image to a post/page, it’s added to that post/page’s gallery. You can then insert the image into the content of the post/page and edit content as you see fit. When you click on the image in the wysiwyg editor, you’ll see two icons – one to edit the image’s settings and one to remove it from the editor – this second icon does not delete the image even though it looks like a typical “delete” icon.
When you press that “delete” button, it removes the image from the visual editor but keeps it in the post/page’s gallery.
To actually remove/delete the image, you need to do the following
- Click the “Add Image” button to view the image screen
- Click the “Gallery” tab to view what images are currently attached to the post
- Click the “Show” link for the image you want removed.
- Click “Delete” towards the bottom of the image detail screen
You’ll be asked to confirm deletion, then the image will be unattached to the post/page and removed entirely from WordPress.