How to Find Images Without Alt Text in WordPress

How to Find Images Without Alt Text in WordPress. Missing alt text on your images can hurt both SEO and accessibility. This guide shows you multiple methods to find images without alternative text in WordPress and how to fix them efficiently.

How to Find Images Without Alt Text in WordPress

Alt text or alternative text is a crucial element for both accessibility and search engine optimization. If you’re running a WordPress website and have uploaded images without adding alt descriptions, you’re missing out on two major benefits: improved user accessibility and enhanced search visibility.

But don’t worry finding and fixing images without alt text in WordPress is easier than you might think. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, this guide walks you through different methods to identify and update missing alt attributes on your site.

🧩 What Is Alt Text and Why Does It Matter?

Alt text is a short description added to an image’s alt attribute. It helps:

• Screen readers describe images to visually impaired users
• Search engines understand image content
• Pages load more meaningfully when images fail to display

Omitting alt text not only breaks accessibility standards like WCAG and ADA compliance but also causes you to lose potential image traffic from Google.

🔍 Method 1: Manually Check via WordPress Media Library

The simplest way to check for missing alt text is through the built-in WordPress Media Library.

Steps:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard
2. Navigate to Media > Library
3. Switch to List View (not Grid View)
4. Enable the Alt Text column via the “Screen Options” tab if not visible
5. Scroll through your image list and check for empty “Alternative Text” fields

🟢 Pros: No plugins needed
🔴 Cons: Time-consuming for large sites

🧩 Method 2: Use a Plugin to Identify Missing Alt Text

If you manage a large site with hundreds or thousands of images, plugins can save time.

Recommended Plugins:

• Accessibility Checker: Flags images missing alt text and provides an accessibility report per post or page.
• Media Library Assistant: Lets you filter attachments by alt text status.
• Image SEO Optimizer: Automatically audits and optionally adds alt text based on image file names or AI.

🟢 Pros: Fast and often automated
🔴 Cons: May add some bloat to your site

🛠️ Method 3: Add a Custom Admin Dashboard Page (PHP Function)

For developers or advanced users, adding a snippet to your functions.php file (or a custom plugin) can display all media files without alt text in a simple dashboard table.

// Hook into the 'wp_dashboard_setup' to create a dashboard widget
add_action('wp_dashboard_setup', 'hz_dashboard_images_without_alt');

function hz_dashboard_images_without_alt() {
    wp_add_dashboard_widget(
        'images_without_alt_widget',
        'Images Without Alternative Text',
        'hz_display_images_without_alt'
    );
}

function hz_display_images_without_alt() {
    $args = array(
        'post_type'      => 'attachment',
        'post_mime_type' => 'image',
        'post_status'    => 'inherit',
        'posts_per_page' => -1,
        'meta_query'     => array(
            array(
                'key'     => '_wp_attachment_image_alt',
                'compare' => 'NOT EXISTS',
            )
        )
    );

    $images = get_posts($args);

    if (!empty($images)) {
        echo '<ul style="max-height: 200px; overflow-y: auto;">';
        foreach ($images as $image) {
            $thumb = wp_get_attachment_image($image->ID, array(50, 50), false, array('style' => 'margin-right:10px; vertical-align:middle;'));
            $edit_link = get_edit_post_link($image->ID);
            echo '<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">' . $thumb . '<a href="' . esc_url($edit_link) . '">' . esc_html($image->post_title) . '</a></li>';
        }
        echo '</ul>';
    } else {
        echo '<p>All images have alternative text. Great job!</p>';
    }
}

🟢 Pros: Customizable and integrates into your WordPress dashboard
🔴 Cons: Requires PHP knowledge

🎯 Bonus: Tools Outside WordPress

For enterprise-level websites or SEO-heavy platforms, consider these options:

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Can crawl your entire site and detect images without alt attributes.
• Ahrefs / SEMrush Site Audits: Premium tools that flag missing alt text under technical SEO issues.

✔️ Tips for Fixing Missing Alt Text

Once you’ve found the images without alt text, apply these tips:

• Keep descriptions clear and concise (under 125 characters)
• Describe the image’s function or content
• Avoid redundant phrases like “image of”
• Include relevant keywords naturally

Alt text might seem small, but it has a big impact on how your content is consumed and indexed. Regularly auditing your WordPress site for missing alt attributes ensures you stay accessible, SEO-optimized, and compliant with global standards.

📩 Do you have questions or suggestions? Leave a comment or contact us!

🏷️ Tags: WordPress, alt text, image SEO, accessibility, media library, WCAG, screen reader, missing alt attributes, SEO optimization, plugin tools