Export images to WordPress with their alt text.

Download yaSEO Image Importer 1.0.0. The plugin is free to install on a WordPress site that allows custom plugins. It runs inside WordPress and does not need a yaSEO API key or a connection to your yaSEO account.

The plugin ZIP and the image export ZIP do different jobs. Install the plugin once through Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin, then activate it. For each image batch, open Tools > yaSEO Image Import and upload the separate WordPress export from yaSEO.

You need WordPress 6.5 or later, PHP 8.1 or later, PHP ZipArchive and an image editor on the host that supports your chosen WebP or AVIF format. Importing requires administrator and media upload permissions. If AVIF is unavailable on the host, prepare a WebP export instead.

Upload your source images or audit a public page in the image workspace. Select the images to export, review their descriptions and give each file a useful name. For an informative image, supply alt text. For decoration, explicitly select the decorative option so the exported description is intentionally empty.

Choose WordPress under Export for. Set WebP or AVIF, the maximum image width and the quality setting. Review a quality preview before downloading. An image containing small labels or product details may need a different setting from a large background photograph.

The exported ZIP contains the optimized image files, a CSV mapping and images.json. The importer reads the JSON to associate each file with its reviewed description and dimensions. Keep the package intact. Renaming files inside it or editing the checksums will make validation fail; make changes in yaSEO and export again.

In WordPress, choose the downloaded image package and click Preview import. The importer checks the ZIP structure, image types, dimensions and checksums before showing the filenames and descriptions. No Media Library attachments are created by this preview.

Check the list, then click Import reviewed images. Each successful file becomes a Media Library attachment with its alt text set. WordPress creates additional image sizes using its own media settings and hosting image editor. The result screen links to each imported attachment and reports any individual failures.

A preview is available for 20 minutes. If it expires, upload the ZIP again. If an import partly succeeds, retry with the same package: successful attachments are reused, while missing items can be imported. Reusing an attachment does not overwrite an alt description you edited in WordPress after the first import.

The importer creates Media Library items. It does not replace existing files, rewrite posts or change a WooCommerce product gallery. Select the new attachment in your page editor or gallery, save the page and inspect the result. This keeps the choice of where an image appears in your hands.

An existing image block may retain its own alt text. After replacing an image in that block, review its Alternative Text field as well as the Media Library value. The description that matters to visitors is the one on the published image element. A successful import is the start of that publishing check.

The same photo can have a different purpose on another page. A green backpack in a product gallery may need a description of its visible features; a close-up in an article about zipper pulls may need different wording. Adjust that placement rather than assuming one library description suits every context.

For the surrounding work, read the WordPress image SEO guide. It covers filenames, responsive sizes, caching and checking what the browser actually receives.

<img src="/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/01-green-backpack.webp"
     alt="Green backpack with orange zipper pulls"
     width="1200" height="900">

If WordPress rejects the upload before showing a preview, check the hosting upload limit and confirm that you chose the image export rather than the plugin ZIP. If an image format is unsupported, try WebP or ask your host which image libraries are enabled. The importer reports validation errors before creating media items.

For an interrupted or partial import, upload the same package again and review the result links. The duplicate check applies to that package; a newly generated export is a new package and may create separate attachments. Keep your source images outside WordPress so you can make another publishing copy later.

No files are fetched from URLs in the manifest. Images come from the uploaded ZIP. The importer performs no AI calls or tracking. Temporary preview packages are removed after import, or through WordPress cron after their expiry.