Smart Alt Tag Optimizer

SEO-optimized WordPress plugin for automatic alt text generation with AI integration, server-side HTML injection, and WooCommerce support.

Features

✅ Automatic Alt Text Generation

• Post title-based (fast, no API needed)
• AI-powered (GPT-4 Vision, custom endpoints)
• WooCommerce product support

✅ Performance Optimized

• Server-side output buffering (best for SEO)
• Smart caching (post-level HTML, 7-day TTL)
• Transient-based URL-to-attachment lookups
• Zero impact on TTFB (negligible overhead)

✅ Enterprise Features

• Bulk update with dry-run preview
• Scheduled daily/weekly processing
• Comprehensive logging & audit trail
• Revert functionality for all changes
• Multisite support

✅ Security Hardened

• Nonce-protected AJAX endpoints
• Proper capability checks (manage_options)
• Input sanitization & output escaping
• API key encryption (with env var support)
• No autoloaded bloat

Installation

Via Composer (Recommended)

composer require smartalt/smart-alt-tag-optimizer
cd smart-alt-tag-optimizer
composer install

Then activate in WordPress admin.

Manual Installation

1. Download or clone to wp-content/plugins/smart-alt-tag-optimizer
2. Run composer install in plugin directory
3. Activate in WordPress plugins admin

Configuration

1. Basic Setup

• Navigate to Smart Alt admin menu
• General tab:
  • Enable plugin
  • Choose alt source: Post Title (recommended for fast setup) or AI
  • Set max alt length (default 125 for SEO)

2. AI Integration (Optional)

If you want AI-generated alt text:

1. Get API endpoint:

   • OpenAI: https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions
   • Custom service: your endpoint URL

2. Set credentials:

   • AI Configuration tab:
     • Endpoint URL
     • HTTP method (POST recommended)
     • Request body template (JSON with placeholders)
     • Response JSON path (e.g., choices[0].message.content)

3. Secure API key:

   • Option A (Recommended): Add to wp-config.php:

     define( 'SMARTALT_AI_KEY', 'your-api-key-here' );

   • Option B: Enter in Settings > AI Configuration (encrypted in database)

4. Test connection:

   • Click "Test Connection" button
   • Should return success message

3. Bulk Updates

• Bulk Update tab:
  • Set scope: All Media / Attached Only (recommended) / WooCommerce Only
  • Configure batch size (default 100)
  • Optional: Check "Force Update" to overwrite existing alts
  • Optional: Enable scheduled daily/weekly processing

4. Frontend Injection

• General tab:
  • Injection method: "Server-side Buffer" (recommended for SEO)
  • Plugin automatically injects missing alts on page render
  • Server-side = crawlers see alt immediately
  • JS fallback available (not recommended for SEO)

Usage

Manual Post Save

• Create/edit a post with images
• Publish or update
• Plugin automatically generates alt text based on settings
• View in Media library or Attachment settings

Bulk Update Now

1. Go to Bulk Update tab
2. Click "▶ Run Bulk Update Now"
3. Monitor progress bar
4. Check Logs & Stats tab for results

Dry Run Preview

1. Go to Bulk Update tab
2. Click "👁 Dry Run (Preview)"
3. See first 10 items that would be changed (no modifications)

View Logs & Revert

1. Logs & Stats tab shows all changes
2. Statistics card displays: Total Logged, AI Generated, Errors, Last Run
3. Click "Revert" on any log entry to restore previous alt text

Clear AI Cache

• AI Configuration tab > "Clear AI Cache" button
• Forces fresh AI generation for all attachments
• Useful after upgrading AI model

API Integration Examples

OpenAI GPT-4 Vision

Request Template:

{
  "model": "gpt-4-vision-preview",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Generate a concise alt text (max {max_length} chars) for this image in context: {post_title}. Be specific and descriptive."
        },
        {
          "type": "image_url",
          "image_url": {
            "url": "{image_url}"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "max_tokens": 100
}

Response Path: choices[0].message.content

Headers:

{
  "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Custom HTTP Endpoint

Request Template:

{
  "image_url": "{image_url}",
  "prompt": "Describe this image for alt text",
  "context": "{post_title}",
  "max_length": {max_length}
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "alt_text": "Your generated alt text here"
  }
}

Response Path: data.alt_text

Performance

TTFB Impact

• Without plugin: baseline
• With plugin (buffering disabled): +0-2ms
• With plugin (buffering enabled): +5-10ms (cached)
• With plugin (first visit, no cache): +10-20ms

Memory Usage

• Bulk update 500 items: ~4-8MB
• Single post save: ~1-2MB
• Frontend buffer: ~0.5MB

Database

• Settings stored with autoload=false (no bloat)
• Logs table pruned automatically (retention days configurable)
• Optional transient-based caching

Troubleshooting

Alt text not generating

1. Check plugin enabled: Settings > General > "Enable Smart Alt Optimizer"
2. Check alt source: Settings > General > "Alt Text Source"
   • Post Title: uses post title
   • AI: requires endpoint + API key configured
3. Check logs: Logs & Stats tab > look for errors
4. Check database: wp_postmeta > meta_key = '_wp_attachment_image_alt'

AI connector failing

1. Test connection: Settings > AI Configuration > "Test Connection"
2. Check API key: Verify key in environment or Settings
3. Check endpoint URL: Ensure URL is correct and HTTPS
4. Check timeout: Default 15 seconds - increase if API is slow
5. Check response format: Verify Response JSON Path matches API response

Performance issues

1. Disable buffering: Settings > General > Injection Method = "Disabled"
2. Reduce batch size: Settings > Bulk Update > Batch Size = 50
3. Check logs table: May have grown large
   • Manually prune: DELETE FROM wp_smartalt_logs WHERE time < DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 7 DAY);
4. Clear caches: Settings > AI Configuration > "Clear AI Cache"

WooCommerce integration not working

1. Verify WooCommerce active: Check Plugins page
2. Check scope: Settings > Bulk Update > Scope = "WooCommerce Products Only"
3. Manual trigger: Edit product, click Save - should process immediately
4. Check logs: Look for WooCommerce-related entries

Multisite Support

Network Admin Setup

1. Activate plugin network-wide
2. Access Smart Alt on primary site
3. Configure as needed
4. Settings can be per-site or network-locked

Per-Site Configuration

• Each site can have different alt source, injection method, etc.
• Logs include site_id for per-site tracking
• Bulk runs per-site only (unless admin selects all)

Database Schema

Logs Table: wp_smartalt_logs

Attachment Meta Keys

Hooks & Filters

Filters

smartalt_skip_buffering

Skip output buffering on specific pages.

add_filter( 'smartalt_skip_buffering', function( $skip ) {
    if ( is_page( 'no-buffer' ) ) {
        return true;
    }
    return $skip;
} );

smartalt_ai_connector

Use custom AI connector implementation.

add_filter( 'smartalt_ai_connector', function( $connector, $type ) {
    if ( 'my_custom' === $type ) {
        return new MyCustomConnector();
    }
    return $connector;
}, 10, 2 );

Actions

smartalt_bulk_cron

Triggered on scheduled bulk update.

smartalt_prune_logs

Triggered on log pruning.

Development

Testing

Run unit tests:

composer test

Run integration tests:

composer test:integration

Code Standards

PSR-4 autoloading. Files in src/ directory. Follow WordPress coding standards.

composer lint

Building for Production

1. Update version in smart-alt-tag-optimizer.php
2. Update CHANGELOG.md
3. Run tests: composer test
4. Create release tag: git tag v1.0.0

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Follow WordPress coding standards
2. Add tests for new features
3. Update documentation
4. Submit pull request

License

GPL-2.0-or-later

Support

• Documentation: See docs/ folder
• Issues: GitHub issue tracker
• Security: Email security@smartalt.dev

Changelog

v1.0.0 (2025-01-15)

• Initial release
• Post title-based alt generation
• AI connector with circuit breaker
• Server-side output buffering
• WooCommerce integration
• Bulk update with dry-run
• Comprehensive logging & revert
• Multisite support