Optimizing images for SEO and accessibility is a key element in enhancing your website’s performance, and a fundamental part of this optimization involves adding appropriate alt text to your images.

Alt Text, short for Alternative Text and also known as ALT Tags, was initially developed to aid visually impaired users by providing a text alternative to images. It has an equally significant role in aiding search engine algorithms to effectively understand and index images. This understanding is crucial, particularly for driving traffic via image-centric search engines such as Google Image Search.

In this article, I will guide you through the process of adding ALT tags to images in WordPress. You will learn both manual and automated methods to do this.

Now, let’s embark on the step-by-step tutorial.

Adding Alt Text To An Image In WordPress

Adding alt text to images in WordPress is a very easy process. Here’s how you can add alt text to your images:

Step 1: Open the Post or Page

First, Navigate to the post or page where you want to add or edit an image.

Step 2: Add or Select the Image

If you’re adding a new image, click on the “+” icon to add a new block, then select the ‘Image’ block. You can then upload an image from your computer, choose one from your media library, or insert one from a URL.

If the image is already in your post, simply click on it to select the image block.

Step 3: Access the Image Settings & Enter Alt Text

Now click on the ‘Settings’ icon in the top right corner of the editor and enter a concise and descriptive alt text for the image in the “ALTERNATIVE TEXT’ field.

After adding the alt text, make sure to either update your post/page or publish it if it’s new.

Over to You

Remember that alt text is not only beneficial for accessibility but also plays a role in search engine optimization (SEO), as it helps search engines understand what the image is about. When writing alt text, be descriptive but also concise, and avoid stuffing keywords unnecessarily.