Alt text is how people using screen readers "see" your photos, and it helps search engines understand them too. On a recipe post with 15 process shots, it is easy for a few to slip through without it. A Fix Alt Text project helps you find every image missing a description and work through them in batches.
Step 1: Find Posts with Missing Alt Text
The Quick Way: Super Search
Press / anywhere on your site to open Super Search and type Posts with missing alt text. Clariti filters Explore to every post with at least one image missing alt text and adds an Alt Text Missing column sorted from most to least.
To start with the posts that get the most traffic, type Posts with missing alt text by most views.
The Manual Way: Filters and Columns
1. In Explore, click Add Filter and choose Alt Text Missing Count (under Opportunities).
2. Drag the slider so the minimum is 1.
3. Click the columns icon (Select Columns to Show in List) and check Alt Text Missing to see the count for each post.
Step 2: Put the Posts in a Project
Create a project such as "Fix Alt Text" with tasks like:
Add alt text to every image in WordPress
Review decorative images
Confirm the count is zero in Clariti
Then click ... at the top right of Explore, choose Assign to Project, pick Filtered Items, and choose your project. See How to Add Posts and Pages to a Project. You can also skip the project and work through the list directly.
Step 3: Fix Each Post
1. Open the post and click the Content tab.
2. Scroll to the Images and Alt Text table. Every image is numbered, and you can hover over one to preview it. Images missing alt text show Empty.
3. Click Edit in WordPress at the top of the post and add alt text to each image in the post editor. Changing alt text in the Media Library won't update images that are already in the post.
4. Update the post in WordPress. The Clariti plugin sends the change to Clariti automatically. If you want to refresh the post right away, click Quick Actions and choose Sync Content.
5. Check off the tasks in your project.
Writing Good Alt Text
Describe what someone would see, in a sentence or less. "Slice of lemon blueberry bundt cake on a white plate" is more helpful than "cake" or a string of keywords. For step photos, say what is happening, like "Whisking eggs and sugar in a glass bowl."
Decorative Images and the Ignore Box
Some images do not need alt text, like a divider graphic or a decorative background. Images your theme marks as decorative or hidden show Empty (image is decorative or hidden) and are not counted as missing.
If an image is decorative but still shows Empty, check its Ignore box. Ignoring missing alt text applies only to that image on that post, and it is left out of the post's Alt Text Missing count once Clariti refreshes your Explore data. Uncheck the box to count it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
I added alt text but the post still shows up. Why?
Make sure you updated the post in WordPress, then use Quick Actions and Sync Content to pull the latest version. Counts in Explore catch up shortly after the post syncs.
I added alt text in the WordPress Media Library. Why does Clariti still say it's missing?
In WordPress, the Media Library and your posts each keep their own copy of an image's alt text. Updating one doesn't update the other, and editing an image in the Media Library doesn't count as updating the posts that use it.
What to do depends on where the image appears:
Images in the body of a post. When you insert an image, the post saves its own copy of the alt text. Changing it in the Media Library later doesn't change the post, so your site still shows the old alt text (or none), and so does Clariti. Syncing won't fix this. Open the post in WordPress, add the alt text to the image in the post editor, and update the post. Clariti picks up the change automatically.
Images your theme or a plugin adds, like recipe card photos and related-post thumbnails. These read their alt text from the Media Library each time the page loads, so your site shows the change right away. The post itself hasn't changed, though, so Clariti isn't told to check it again. Open the post in Clariti and use Quick Actions > Sync Content to pull in the new alt text.
Not sure which kind you have? On your live post, right-click the image and choose Inspect. If your new alt text shows up in the image's code, sync the post in Clariti. If it doesn't, update the alt text in the post editor.
Updated an image that appears on a lot of posts? Email us at [email protected] and we'll help you get them refreshed.
Does ignoring alt text on one post affect other posts?
No. Ignoring missing alt text only applies to that image on that post. (Ignoring a broken image or link is different, and applies sitewide.)
Still Have Questions?
Reach out anytime and we will help you sort it out. Email us at [email protected].