How to Add Alt Text to Images in Elementor

Knowing how to add alt text in Elementor is essential for boosting accessibility and improving your image SEO in WordPress. This guide shows you how to configure your Elementor image settings to ensure each image has the proper alt attribute for both screen readers and search engines. By the end, you'll be able to confidently add and optimize alt text across your entire WordPress website.

Why Alt Text Matters

Alt text, or alternative text, is a brief description that tells users and search engines what an image is about. It's critical for accessibility, especially for screen readers, and it helps improve your website's SEO performance. Screen readers use alt text to communicate visual content to visually impaired users, ensuring that everyone can understand the context of the page.

Search engines like Google also use alt text to index images. If your images are optimized with relevant alt attributes, they're more likely to show up in image search results, increasing your visibility and traffic.

How to Add Alt Text to Images in Elementor

Whether you're using Elementor's Image widget or editing through the Media Library, here's how you can add alt attributes effectively. It's important to know that alt text entered via the Media Library is stored globally, meaning any use of the image will carry the same alt attribute unless overwritten.

Via Media Library (Recommended)

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Media > Library.
2. Click on the image you want to edit.
3. In the right-hand sidebar, find the Alternative Text field.
4. Enter a brief, descriptive phrase (e.g., "Golden retriever playing in the park").
5. Close the dialog — your changes will be saved automatically.

This method is especially useful when you want to add alt text in bulk or when managing large image libraries outside the Elementor editor.

Directly in Elementor

1. Edit the page using Elementor.
2. Click on the Image widget you want to edit.
3. In the left panel, find the image preview and click the pencil icon.
4. This opens the Media Library — select the image.
5. Edit the Alt Text in the right panel, then click Insert Media.

If you need to use different alt text for the same image in various contexts, use this method to override the global alt attribute per instance.

Best Practices for Writing Alt Text

Good alt text should be clear, concise, and accurately describe the image content. Avoid keyword stuffing or vague phrases. Effective alt text provides context to the image in relation to the surrounding content, enhancing both usability and SEO.

• Describe what’s visible: e.g., "Woman holding a cup of coffee in a cafe"
• Be concise: Keep it under 125 characters
• Avoid redundancy: Don’t start with "Image of..."
• Use keywords sparingly: Only when they fit naturally
• Match page context: Ensure the alt text aligns with the surrounding text or message

Alt Text for SEO and Accessibility

Optimizing images in Elementor goes beyond just looks. Adding image alt attributes improves both SEO and accessibility. For users relying on assistive technology, well-written alt text can greatly enhance their browsing experience.

SEO impact: Alt tags are considered by Google when ranking content, especially in image searches. Including relevant keywords in your alt text — without overdoing it — can improve your visibility in image-related search queries.

Accessibility: Proper alt text ensures screen readers can describe the image content to visually impaired users, aligning with WCAG standards. Not using alt text may cause important information to be missed entirely by some users.

Using Elementor in combination with WordPress’ built-in media tools allows you to ensure consistency in your website’s accessibility approach while enhancing your chances of higher rankings.

Troubleshooting: Alt Text Not Showing

If you added alt text but it’s not appearing in the source code or screen reader tools, check the following:

• Reupload the image: Sometimes older uploads lose metadata, especially if edited outside WordPress.
• Clear cache: Browser or caching plugins might be serving an old version of the page.
• Double-check in Media Library: Confirm the alt text is still present there.
• Use Inspect Element: Look for the alt="" attribute in the image tag to verify it appears.
• Disable conflicting plugins: Some Elementor extensions or image optimization plugins may override alt attributes.

Useful Links

How to Use The Elementor Image Widget – Learn how to add and configure images using Elementor's Image widget, including setting alt text for accessibility and SEO.

Adding Images and Icons in Elementor – This guide explains how to insert images and icons into your Elementor designs, with details on editing image attributes like alt text.

Alternative Text for Images – WordPress Accessibility Handbook – Understand the importance of alt text for images and how to write effective descriptions to enhance accessibility.

Media Library Alt Text Editor Plugin – A WordPress plugin that allows you to edit and bulk update alt text directly from the media library, improving SEO and accessibility.

What is an Alt Tag? – Elementor Blog – Explore the significance of alt tags in web design and how they contribute to better SEO and user experience.

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Conclusion

Understanding how to add alt text to images in Elementor is a fundamental part of building an accessible and SEO-optimized WordPress website. Whether editing directly in Elementor or via the Media Library, always include meaningful alt tags and review your image settings regularly. This not only helps improve image discoverability but also ensures your website is usable by everyone.

Following the tips and methods in this guide will help you improve your content's performance and align with best practices for WordPress visual editor image settings and accessibility.