Alt text — Alternative text

A written description of an image for screen readers and search engines.

What it means

Alt text, short for alternative text, is a short written description attached to an image on a website. You usually cannot see it on the page, but it is there in the code.

It has two jobs. It helps people who are blind or have low vision, because screen readers read it aloud. It also helps search engines understand what an image shows.

How it works

When you upload an image to WordPress, Shopify or most website builders, you will find a field called "Alt text" or "Alternative text". Whatever you type there is added to the image in the page's code.

If the image fails to load because of a slow connection, many browsers show the alt text in its place. Search engines read it to decide when your image should appear in results, including Google Images.

Purely decorative images, like a background pattern, can have empty alt text so screen readers skip them.

A simple example

A café in Pune posts a photo of its signature filter coffee on the menu page. The file is called "IMG_4521.jpg" and has no alt text, so neither Google nor a screen reader user knows what it shows.

The owner adds this alt text:

South Indian filter coffee served in a steel tumbler and dabara at our Pune café

Now the image is accessible, and it has a better chance of appearing when someone searches for filter coffee in Pune.

Why it matters

Good alt text makes your website usable for more people. It also gives search engines extra context about your page, supporting your overall SEO and image search visibility.

Beginner tips

• Describe what is actually in the image, clearly and briefly.
• Include a keyword only if it fits naturally.
• Do not start with "Image of" or "Picture of"; screen readers already announce it as an image.
• Common mistake: stuffing a list of keywords into every image's alt text.

Related: SEO, Keyword, Responsive design