How to Add Captions to Featured Images in WordPress
December 25. 2021
There are quite a few reasons why WordPress is one of the most used platforms nowadays – its simplicity would be the main one. However, some things are not as easy as they should be, or at least they seem that way. At WP Full Care, we know that most of the problems people face with their WordPress websites can be easily solved. So if you have been struggling to add captions to featured images in WordPress, then don’t panic just yet. You will be able to surpass this obstacle the next time you sit down at your desk with a personal computer at hand.
Why should you add captions to featured images in WordPress?
As a website owner, we are sure that you have a lot of goals and aspirations. While they might pertain to your individual industry and line of work, we have no doubt that you have started a website with hopes of it becoming a popular one. But managing to make your website popular is much more complex than one would think. It requires engaging content, Search Engine Optimization, aesthetic design, and a lot of little actions that you can and will have to take along the line. Adding captions to your featured images in WordPress is one of them.
Captions are a useful tool that adds context and some background information about the images that you decide to display. You can display them across different areas of your website and use them to further engage your website viewers. The great thing about WordPress is that almost all themes come with built-in support for featured images.
However, every now and then, it happens that the image is displayed on the website, but the caption is nowhere to be found. Some WordPress themes do not show image captions by default, and they are probably the ones that have urged you to seek a solution for your troubles. Don’t worry – we’ll show you how to fix the issue with the means of a plugin. No code writing or technical skills are required!
How to add captions to featured images in WordPress?
Not all people are alike. That’s why some website owners hate the thought of having to dig around their website, fixing issues along the way. Others are thrilled by the chance to customize their website as they are interested in the technical stuff. Of course, both of these groups could benefit from a dedicated WordPress website maintenance team that would save a bunch of time and energy. But if you belong to the first group of people, you don’t have to procrastinate with the task of fixing the non-existent captions to featured images. You’ll be done fixing the issue before you know it.
Installing the plugin
Once you sit down at your laptop, the first thing you ought to do is install the plugin called FSM Custom Featured Image Caption. Since this probably isn’t the first time that you have had to install a plugin, you most likely know how to do it by now. Can you choose to install a different plugin? You might be able to, but for the sake of this guide, we’ll use the one that we know works perfectly. Plugin installation itself shouldn’t take long, which means that you will be ready for step two rather soon.
Customizing the settings
When the plugin is installed, you know what comes next, right? Activation and customization. With an activated plugin, you will be able to go to the Setting > FSM Custom Featured Image Caption page. That’s where you will be able to configure the plugin and ultimately add captions to featured images in WordPress. Note that the default settings will work perfectly for most users, but you can decide to be a bit more adventurous if you want. By clicking the ‘Show image captions in lists’ checkbox, you will display captions on the front page of your website. Likewise, if you feel up to it, you can decide to style the caption with your custom CSS, but we like to stick to the basics.
That’s why we will opt for the default settings option for the sake of this guide. After all, it’s designed with the intention of helping you solve the problem as quickly and as simply as possible. If you are sure that you have clicked all the right options in the checkbox, don’t forget to click the Save Changes button. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that you will miss this big button that’s pretty prominent, but we don’t need to tell you how the simplest of things can often be the most elusive ones.
Maintaining the plugin
That’s it – you are now ready to display your captions for the whole world to see. You can go out and test how well the plugin works. Of course, as time goes by, you will need to keep an eye out for any updates to the plugin. Running a WordPress website means that you will have to keep your eyes peeled for small things such as updates. The good news is that you can also turn to our team for software updates. We’ll save your time by making sure that your WordPress themes and plugins are always updated and relevant.
The bottom line
As difficult as they might seem at first, most WordPress issues are easy to solve. When trying to add captions to featured images in WordPress, you just need a reliable plugin. And it’s precisely the plugins that can solve most issues that you might encounter. Of course, there’s always a lot more help available should you end up needing it. You can have someone maintain your website and be on top of your plugins at the same time. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.