How to Add Alt Text to Every WordPress Image (Complete Guide)

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WordPress is the world's most popular CMS, powering 43% of all websites. Yet studies consistently show that the majority of WordPress sites have significant numbers of images missing alt text. This guide shows you every method for adding alt text in WordPress, from individual images to bulk updates.

Method 1: Add Alt Text in the WordPress Media Library

This is the most reliable method because alt text added in the Media Library applies everywhere the image is used across your site.

Go to WordPress Dashboard → Media → Library
Click on any image
In the right panel, find the "Alternative Text" field
Type your descriptive alt text
Click "Update"

Pro tip: Any alt text you add in the Media Library becomes the default alt text whenever that image is inserted into a post. However, you can always override it at the block level if needed.

Method 2: Add Alt Text in the Block Editor (Gutenberg)

Open a post or page in the block editor
Click on an image block
In the right sidebar, find "ALT TEXT (ALTERNATIVE TEXT)"
Enter your alt text
This overrides the Media Library alt text for this specific instance

Method 3: Add Alt Text in the Classic Editor

In the Classic Editor, click on an image in your post
Click the pencil (Edit) icon that appears
In the Image Details popup, find the "Alternative Text" field
Enter your alt text and click Update

How to Find Images Missing Alt Text in WordPress

Method	How to do it
Media Library filter	Media → Library → switch to List view → sort by Alt Text column
Google Search Console	Check for "Image missing alt attribute" in Coverage report
WAVE tool	wave.webaim.org — paste your URL, flags missing alt text
Screaming Frog	Free up to 500 URLs — exports a list of all images missing alt text

Bulk Alt Text Update Plugins

If you have hundreds of existing images without alt text, doing them one by one is impractical. These WordPress plugins help with bulk updates:

Plugin	Method	Cost
Rank Math SEO	Bulk alt text from filename, title or custom	Free/Pro
Yoast SEO	Image alt text warnings in content analysis	Free/Pro
Alt Text Tools	Dedicated bulk alt text management	Free
Image SEO	Auto-generates alt text from filenames	Free/Pro

WooCommerce Product Image Alt Text

For WooCommerce stores, product images need alt text too. Here's how:

Go to Products → Edit a product
Hover over the Product Image (main image)
Click the pencil icon
Add alt text in the field
For Gallery Images — same process, click each gallery image
Save product

WordPress Alt Text Best Practices

Set alt text in the Media Library first — this becomes the default everywhere
Name image files descriptively before uploading (WordPress uses the filename as the image title)
Check that your theme isn't overriding alt text in image output functions
For logo images: use your brand name + "logo" as alt text
Test with a screen reader or the Chrome Accessibility inspector

Workflow tip: When preparing a batch of images for WordPress, use our free alt text generator to generate optimised alt text for each image. Copy and paste directly into the WordPress Media Library Alternative Text field.

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