Do you need to add captions to your featured images in WordPress?
Captions are helpful because they add context and background information about the images you use. However, many WordPress themes don’t display captions for a post’s featured image.
In this article, we’ll show you how to display captions for your featured images in WordPress.
Why Add Captions to Featured Images in WordPress?
Featured images are a WordPress theme feature. Almost all WordPress themes come with built-in support for featured images and display them beautifully across different areas of your WordPress website.
Adding a featured image to your post will make it look more appealing and build user engagement. To learn more, check our guide on how to add featured images or post thumbnails in WordPress.
When you upload a featured image, you have the option to add a caption and description, along with other fields.
But when the image is displayed on your website, it may only show the image.
This depends on the theme you are using. For example, the Twenty Twenty and Twenty Twenty-One themes do show featured image captions by default. The Twenty Sixteen and Twenty Nineteen themes do not.
If your WordPress theme does not display featured image captions, then we’ll show you how to add them by using a plugin.
Adding Captions to Featured Images in WordPress
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the FSM Custom Featured Image Caption plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » FSM Custom Featured Image Caption page to configure the plugin.
The default settings will work for many users, however, if you want the featured image captions to be displayed on the front page of your WordPress website, then make sure you click the ‘Show image captions in lists’ checkbox.
For this tutorial, we’ll leave the ‘Default Class’ option selected. However, if you would like to style the caption using your own custom CSS, then you should select one of the other two options.
Once you have finished selecting those options, make sure you click the Save Changes button to store your settings.
You’re finished! When you visit your WordPress website, you should see any captions that you have added to your feature images.
Here are before and after screenshots from our demonstration website. We are using the Twenty Sixteen theme that does not show featured image captions by default.
We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to add captions to your featured images in WordPress.
You may also want to learn how to choose the best web design software , or check out list of must have plugins to grow your site.
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Anonimus says
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome
Admin
Zlatev says
Built-in in 4.6 –
Chris says
How?
Frank says
no alt text????
zaib azhar says
in which file?
Moyen says
Hello,
I tried to get the featured image by calling the specific post ID and get_post function but everything is okay except featured image. It does not show featured image.
is there problem to call by post ID and get_post(); ?
my code?
// custome template (community)
post_title; ?>
post_content; ?>
Please any idea?
WPBeginner Support says
We are sorry we can not see the code. You can put your code in http://pastebin.com/ and then share the link in the comment.
Admin
Sabir says
This is very great and very helpful. Thank you so much!
Trisha says
Thank you for explaining this! I just needed to add the image captions and spent a lot of time searching for a solution…..I found a lot of other answers on the WP support forum, but none of them explained how featured images are stored……such a simple thing now that I understand.
Vali_REK says
Hello, great post.
Please explain if I can do that in other website.
I d like to show article or category from wordpress blog on opencart website.
Thank you
WPBeginner Support says
You can fetch WordPress content into OpenCart website using RSS Feed.
Admin
Aneas Nemorosus says
Where can I buy you a coffee????
Editorial Staff says
You can send us a donation using the forms here:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wpbeginner-needs-your-help/
Admin
Mike says
I still don’t know what or where the “loop” is. Sorry.
Yannick says
Sry, I don´t rly get it…
In which loop exactly do i have to paste the code?
Maybe it´s just me being brain-afk, sry for that.
Editorial Staff says
In the loop where you want to display thumbnails with captions. This could be your single.php file, or any other files.
Admin
Dejan says
Thank you for this!!!
Jhon Edison Bueno Martinez says
Thanks a lot, I have been looking for this and this is the best and simple explanation of how to add the image caption for featured images.
Thanks
Editorial Staff says
Use this article:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-themes/how-to-display-custom-fields-outside-the-loop-in-wordpress/
Admin
tonilehtimaki87 says
Short neat and to the point. Only critic goes for not providing example output for the short article. For other readers: Remember to read the related posts!
Gary says
How can I style the caption?
It is rendering the caption line outside of the DIV class in the source code? What am I doing wrong.
Thanks in advance,
Gary
Editorial Staff says
You can wrap the echo content in a div of its own.
Admin
t.diaz says
I have been banging my head against a wall for about 4 hours trying to figure out how to wrap the echo content in its own div. (PHP noob here).
Can you give me an example of how it would look to wrap the div on that echo?
Editorial Staff says
Do it like this:
echo ‘open div here’ . get_post(get_post_thumbnail_id())->post_excerpt . ‘close div here’;
karen says
This is great. Very helpful. Thank you so much! But it would really be helpful to show a screenshot of the result.
Bronson says
This little gem comes in handy when wanting to spruce up most of the free themes out there… nice, quick and easy.