How to Bulk Add Alt Text to WordPress Images

If you have hundreds or thousands of WordPress images without alt text, manually adding them one by one would take forever. This guide shows you how to bulk add alt text to all your WordPress images efficiently.

Why Alt Text Matters

Alt text (alternative text) serves two critical purposes:

• Accessibility: Screen readers use alt text to describe images to visually impaired users
• SEO: Google uses alt text to understand image content and rank your pages in image search

Missing alt text is one of the most common WordPress SEO mistakes. If your site has been around for years, you likely have thousands of images without proper descriptions.

Method 1: Manual Bulk Editing in WordPress

WordPress has a built-in bulk editing feature, but it's tedious for large libraries.

Step 1: Access Your Media Library

Navigate to Media → Library in your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Switch to List View

Click the list view icon in the top right. This makes bulk editing easier.

Step 3: Edit Images Individually

Click on each image and add alt text in the "Alternative Text" field. For 100+ images, this becomes impractical.

Method 2: Using Database Queries (Advanced)

Warning: This method requires database access and technical knowledge. Always backup your database first.

You can bulk update alt text using SQL queries via phpMyAdmin, but this approach has major drawbacks:

• Risk of breaking your database if done incorrectly
• No way to generate contextual alt text automatically
• Requires writing custom SQL for each batch

We don't recommend this method unless you're an experienced developer.

Method 3: Automated Alt Text Generation (Recommended)

The most efficient solution is using a plugin that generates alt text automatically using AI. This is the only practical approach for large media libraries.

Using the Altomatic Plugin

Here's how to bulk generate alt text for all your WordPress images in minutes:

1. Install the Altomatic Plugin

• Go to Plugins → Add New in WordPress
• Search for "Altomatic"
• Click Install, then Activate

2. Configure Plugin Settings

After activation, navigate to Settings → Altomatic in your WordPress dashboard. Here you'll:

• Enter your API key (you get 50 free credits per month to start)
• Enable "Automatically generate alt text for images"
• Choose format conversion options (WebP, AVIF)
• Select which image sizes to optimize (Original, Thumbnail, Medium, etc.)

3. Run Bulk Optimization

You have two options for optimizing your images:

Option A: Bulk Optimize All Images

Go to Media → Bulk Optimization to process your entire media library at once. This is the fastest way to add alt text to hundreds or thousands of images.

Option B: Optimize Individual Images

In your Media → Library, you'll see optimize buttons next to each image. Click to generate alt text and optimize individual images on demand.

4. Review and Edit

After optimization completes, you can:

• Review all generated alt text in your Media Library
• Edit any alt text directly if you want to refine the AI-generated descriptions
• See which images have been optimized and which formats were created

The AI generates contextual, SEO-friendly alt text based on the actual image content, but you always have full control to customize it for your specific needs.

Best Practices for Alt Text

Whether you're writing alt text manually or using AI generation, follow these guidelines:

Be Descriptive But Concise

Include Keywords Naturally

If the image is relevant to your target keyword, include it naturally in the description. Don't keyword stuff.

Avoid "Image of" or "Picture of"

Screen readers already announce it's an image, so don't waste characters.

Common Questions

How long does it take to process 1000 images?

With automated tools like Altomatic, processing 1000 images typically takes 15-30 minutes depending on your server speed and image sizes. The plugin processes in batches to prevent timeouts.

Can I edit AI-generated alt text?

Yes. AI-generated alt text is a starting point. You can review and edit any alt text directly in your WordPress media library or during the bulk optimization process.

Will this work with WooCommerce product images?

Absolutely. The bulk alt text generation works with all images in your WordPress media library, including WooCommerce products, gallery images, and featured images.

Does adding alt text improve SEO immediately?

Google needs to recrawl your pages to see the changes. Typically you'll see improvements in image search rankings within 2-4 weeks after adding alt text. Use Google Search Console to request re-indexing for faster results.

Next Steps

Don't let missing alt text hurt your SEO and accessibility. Start with these action items:

1. Audit your WordPress media library to see how many images are missing alt text
2. Choose your bulk editing method (automated is fastest for 100+ images)
3. Process your entire library in batches
4. Set up automatic alt text generation for new uploads