How do I upload images?

They keep telling me the image is too large—should I be changing the file format or something else entirely?

Every image hosting site has an option to resize your files (I marked it in red in the screenshot above).
The limit here on the forum is 640x480. Just select those dimensions before you even hit upload.
That way, your images actually stay within the allowed size limits...

I have some images saved on my desktop, but whenever I go to manage attachments and try to browse for the one I want, it tells me the file size is too large.
Is there any way I can shrink these files directly from my computer—since I haven't set up my own web hosting yet?

Austin Sullivan73 said:I've got images on my desktop, but when I go to manage attachments and try to upload one, it tells me the file is too big.
Is there a way to shrink these desktop files? I haven't set up any web hosting yet.

When you use manage attachments, the max file size allowed is 9.8KB. That's a tiny, tiny image.

Here’s how you upload to a host—try using something like
www.imagesforme.com, where I'll show you how to resize an image;
just click Google, find the photo on your PC, pick the max size allowed (640x480), and hit Upload.
Then grab the forum code, (click the thumbnail—the little preview—to see the full size)

copy it and paste it into your post, or just click and paste it there.

Does that help?