Alt text (short for "alternative text") is a written description attached to an image in your website's code. Visitors don't normally see it, but it's read aloud by screen readers for blind and partially sighted people, shown when an image fails to load, and used by Google to understand what the picture shows.
Why alt text matters
- Accessibility — it's the only way some visitors can know what an image contains.
- SEO — search engines can't see pictures; alt text helps your images rank in Google Images.
- Compliance — accessibility standards like WCAG require meaningful alt text.
Good vs bad examples
Bad
IMG_4021.jpg or image or dog dog puppy cute dog best dog
Good
Golden retriever puppy running across a sunlit meadow with a red ball
Tips for writing alt text
- Describe what's actually in the picture, as if to someone on the phone.
- Keep it under about 125 characters.
- Don't start with "image of" — screen readers already say that.
- Include a keyword only if it naturally describes the image.
The easy way
Writing alt text for hundreds of images is tedious. Alt-Text-Image-Meta uses AI to look at each image and write accurate alt text automatically, the moment you upload it.