Explain Your Images with a Caption – WP Tip #010
WordPress handles images really well. One of the cool features in WordPress is the built in captioning system for your images. Creating a caption for your image is good for various reasons:
- Describes the image in text
- Improves your SEO
- Gives your reader a description of the image
- Lets you expand on your post
- Points out a specific section of the image
When you upload an image to a WordPress post, you have the chance to insert a caption. Make the caption short and sweet, make it straight to the point and make it different than your alt field and description (alt tags and descriptions will be covered in a future tip).
You don't need to caption all your images, for example, you'll notice that most of the editorial images in WordPress tips aren't captioned because they would not add much value; they're used for aesthetics, but you'll notice that the images that show a screenshot do have a caption. For Example, WordPress tip #004, has a captioned image.
If you feel inclined to do so, you can even customize the style for the caption to fit your theme even more than the built-in styles. The basic class for captions built into wordpress is
.wp-caption
with many others available for different elements and formatting. For more info read the specs on the core CSS styles at the WordPress Codex.
Next time you add an image, make sure it has a caption to help the reader know what you're trying to convey in that image.
