Fix guide · WordPress

How to Add Alt Text to Images in WordPress (2026)

Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers and search engines. Google uses alt text to understand what an image contains — it is the primary way images get indexed for image search and it reinforces the page's topic keywords. Our checker found one or more images on your page without alt text. This guide shows you how to fix them.

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Why it matters

What this issue costs you

Alt text has two direct effects: it helps visually impaired users understand images (an accessibility requirement in many jurisdictions), and it gives search engines keyword context for image indexing. Pages with descriptive alt text consistently rank better for image search queries and show slightly stronger relevance signals for the page topic.

Step-by-step

How to fix: Missing image alt text

WordPress

1
Fix via the Block Editor (for a single image)
Open the page or post. Click the image block. In the right sidebar under "Image Settings", fill in the "Alt text (alternative text)" field. Write a concise, descriptive sentence (e.g. "A developer reviewing SEO findings on a laptop"). Do not repeat the same alt text on every image — be specific. Update the page.
2
Fix via the WordPress Media Library
Go to Dashboard → Media → Library. Click an image. In the "Attachment Details" panel on the right, fill in the "Alternative Text" field. This updates the alt text for every future instance of that image across the site, but does NOT retroactively update already-inserted images — you must update those individually in the editor.
3
Fix via the Classic Editor
In the Classic Editor, click an image to select it, then click the pencil (edit) icon. In the Image Details modal, fill in the "Alternative Text" field. Click Update.
4
Decorative images — use empty alt=""
If an image is purely decorative (a background pattern, a separator icon), set alt="" (empty, not missing). This tells screen readers to skip it without announcing "image" to visually impaired users.
Example HTML for decorative images
```
<img src="separator.png" alt="">
```

Verify the fix

Run the checker to confirm the issue is resolved

After applying the steps above, paste your URL below. Our checker will re-run every applicable check and show whether missing image alt text still shows as a failing check.

FAQ

Common questions about missing image alt text

How long should alt text be?

Aim for one concise, descriptive sentence — typically under 125 characters. Describe what the image shows and why it's on the page. Avoid "image of" or "photo of" at the start — screen readers already announce it as an image.

Should I put keywords in alt text?

Naturally — if the image is relevant to your keyword topic, your description will naturally include the keyword. But don't keyword-stuff: "SEO SEO guide WordPress SEO tips WordPress" as alt text is worse than no alt text.

Does missing alt text directly hurt my Google rankings?

Images without alt text cannot be indexed for image search and miss an opportunity to reinforce the page's topic. Google has stated alt text is important for image understanding. In practice, pages with consistently missing alt text tend to rank slightly below comparable pages that have it.

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