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[Resolved] Automatically translate Alt text for images

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are trying to automatically translate Alt text for images on your site using WPML, but despite enabling the automatic detection option in WPML > Settings > Media Translation, the Alt text is not translating into German.
Solution:
1. Update WPML Plugins:
Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins in your WordPress dashboard. Look for WPML Multilingual CMS and WPML String Translation. If an update notification is present, please update them to their latest versions.
2. Confirm Media Translation Settings:
Navigate to WPML → Settings. Scroll down to the Media Translation section. Ensure both Automatically detect best options for translating image texts and Translate media library texts with posts are enabled. Click Apply if you make any changes.
3. Trigger a Translation Update:
Go to Pages and Edit your original English page that contains the images in the carousel. Make a minor change to the page content and click the Update button to save the page. This action helps WPML recognize and push all associated media texts for translation.
4. Check in the Advanced Translation Editor:
Go to WPML → Translation Dashboard. Find your English page and click the pencil icon next to the German language to open it in the Advanced Translation Editor. Look for the Alt text segments for your images. If you see them, complete the translation and mark the translation as complete.
After these steps, check your German page on the frontend to see if the Alt text is now translated correctly. If you have any caching plugins, it's a good idea to clear your site cache after making these changes.

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems irrelevant due to outdated information or a different case scenario, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

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This topic contains 3 replies, has 1 voice.

Last updated by Kor 2 weeks, 1 day ago.

Assisted by: Kor.

Author Posts
November 18, 2025 at 10:20 am #17587308

alexZ-17

Background of the issue:
I am trying to automatically translate Alt text for images on my site hidden link using WPML. I have enabled the option in WPML > Settings > Media Translation to automatically detect the best options for translating image texts (alt, caption, title). I created Alt Text for images in English, published a web page with these images included through a carousel, and translated the page into German.

Symptoms:
The Alt Text for images is not translated into German despite enabling the automatic detection option in WPML.

Questions:
Why is the Alt Text for images not translating automatically into German?
Is there a specific setting I need to adjust to ensure Alt Text is translated?
November 18, 2025 at 11:16 am #17587749

Dražen
Supporter

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)

Hello,

you have been inactive for a while so we have converted the chat to ticket, one of my colleague will take over.

Please share the access details of your website, so we can log in and take a look. Please share URL of the page where issue happens.

I’m enabling a private message for the following reply.

We have strict policies regarding privacy and access to your information.

Please see:
https://wpml.org/purchase/support-policy/privacy-and-security-when-providing-debug-information-for-support/


- Please backup the site files and database before providing us access. 

- If you have a staging site where the problem can be reproduced, it is better to share access to the staging site.



Thanks,
Drazen

November 18, 2025 at 4:39 pm #17588947

alexZ-17

you have said the case will be transfomred to email ticket - it has not happened.
Pls do
I have a lot of new information
November 19, 2025 at 1:03 am #17589909

Kor
WPML Supporter since 08/2022

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)

Thanks for getting back to us. This message is part of your support ticket, so you can continue replying here for any follow-up regarding your issue.

As mentioned earlier, we’ll need access to your website in order to investigate further. Please provide the login details along with the URL of the page where the issue occurs.

Please note that it is important to have a backup for security purposes and to prevent any potential data loss. You can use the UpdraftPlus plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/) to fulfill your backup requirements.

Your upcoming reply will be treated with confidentiality and will only be visible to you and me.

✙ To resolve the issue, I may need your consent to deactivate and reactivate plugins and the theme, as well as make configuration changes on the site if necessary. This emphasizes the significance of having a backup.