What Alt text means
Alt text makes images understandable to people who cannot see them and helps search engines and AI tools understand your content. Describe what matters in the image in context. Purely decorative images should have empty alt text so they are skipped.
Why it matters for your website
Without alt text, people using screen readers miss what your images show, including key details on products or service photos. Google also uses it to understand images, which helps you show up in image search. Good alt text is quick to write and improves both accessibility and visibility.
Example
A florist writes the alt text 'Bridal bouquet of white roses and eucalyptus' for a product photo instead of leaving it blank or naming the file 'IMG_4823'.
Tips
- Describe what the image shows and why it matters on that page.
- Use empty alt text for purely decorative images so screen readers skip them.
- Keep it short and natural; a sentence or less usually works.
Common mistakes
- Stuffing alt text with keywords like 'best Chicago florist cheap flowers'.
- Starting every description with 'image of' or 'picture of', which screen readers already announce.
Questions about Alt text
What is Alt text?
A short written description of an image that screen readers read aloud and search engines use.
How long should alt text be?
Short enough to be read quickly, often a phrase or one sentence. If an image like a chart needs a longer explanation, put the details in the surrounding text.
Does alt text help SEO?
Yes. Google says it uses alt text, along with page content, to understand what an image is about. It also helps images appear in Google Images results.
