How to write alt text for product images

What alt text is for

Alt text is the written version of an image. A screen reader reads it aloud to blind and low-vision shoppers, the browser shows it when an image fails to load, and search engines use it to understand the image. The W3C’s accessibility tutorial says images must have text alternatives that describe the information or function they carry. WCAG 2.2, the web accessibility standard, makes this success criterion 1.1.1 at Level A, its most basic level.

On a product page, the images show color, finish, size and fit, and alt text is how a shopper who cannot see them gets those details. Write for that shopper first. Google’s image guidance asks for useful, descriptive alt text too, and warns that stuffing it with keywords makes a poor experience and can get a site treated as spam.

A formula for product alt text

[Product] + [the trait a shopper sees first: color, material or finish] + [what this image adds: view, detail, use or scale]

Main image:   [product] in [color or finish], front view
Angle:        Back of the [product], showing [feature]
Detail:       Close-up of [part], showing [texture, stitching or label]
In use:       [Person or setting] using the [product], showing [size or fit]
Scale:        [Product] held in one hand, or next to [known object]
Infographic:  The words and numbers in the graphic, written as a sentence
Decorative:   alt="" (left empty)

Put the most important words first, as W3C’s tips advise, and stop when the image’s job is covered. The same tips say there is usually no need for words like "image", "icon" or "picture". If the image has words rendered into it, such as a headline on an AI-made ad, repeat them in the alt text; see how to get text right in AI images.

Good and bad examples

The weak main-image text is a keyword list, the pattern Google’s image guide shows as bad, next to "Dalmatian puppy playing fetch" as its best example. The better lifestyle text gives scale, which Baymard Institute’s 2017 testing found 42% of shoppers try to judge from product images.

Lifestyle, detail, infographic and decorative images

• Lifestyle images: describe the product and what the scene shows about it, such as size, fit or use. Leave out the mood and the props unless they matter to the purchase.
• Detail images: name the part and what the shopper learns from it.
• Images of text and infographics: W3C says the alt text should contain the same words as the image, so write the claims and numbers out.
• Complex images such as size charts: give the full information, in the alt text if it is short or in the product description if it is long. Etsy suggests putting size charts in the listing description as well.
• Decorative images such as background textures: use an empty alt attribute, alt="", with no space between the quotes, so screen readers skip them.
• Linked images, such as a thumbnail that opens the full gallery: describe what the link does. W3C calls these functional images.

How long alt text should be

W3C’s advice is the most concise description of the image’s purpose. The platforms put numbers on it:

A 125-character default works everywhere, since it meets Shopify’s advice and sits inside Etsy’s. If a detail needs more room, such as a size chart, put it in the product description as well. Etsy adds that repeating your shop name, title or tags in alt text brings no extra search benefit, because that text is already on the page.

Where to add alt text on each platform

Alt text checklist

• Every informative image has alt text, and decorative ones have alt="".
• Each alt text names the product and what that image adds.
• The most important words come first, in 125 characters or fewer where possible.
• No "image of", no keyword lists, no shop name, no price.
• Words inside the image, including AI-rendered headlines, are repeated in the alt text.
• Colors, sizes and counts in the alt text match the product data.
• AI-suggested alt text from Shopify or Etsy has been read and corrected.

Questions people also ask

Should every image in a gallery get different alt text?

Yes. Etsy notes that describing different views, details or variations gives blind and low-vision shoppers a separate description for each image. Repeating one line across a gallery tells them nothing about what the second, third or fourth image adds.

Can AI write my product alt text?

Shopify’s media editor suggests alt text, and Etsy adds AI-written alt text for US sellers who leave the field empty. Read each one before publishing and correct colors, materials and counts against your product data.

Does alt text help SEO?

Google’s image SEO guide recommends descriptive alt text and warns that keyword stuffing can get a site treated as spam. Text written for a shopper using a screen reader serves search as well.

Sources

Checked on September 24, 2026. Prices, specs and rules change; follow the links for the current versions.

1. 1.W3C WAI: Images tutorial
2. 2.W3C WAI: Informative images
3. 3.W3C WAI: Images tutorial, tips and tricks
4. 4.W3C: Understanding WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1, Non-text content
5. 5.Google Search Central: Image SEO best practices
6. 6.Shopify Help Center: Adding alt text to media
7. 7.Etsy Help: How to add a text alternative to your listing images
8. 8.Amazon Seller Central: A+ Content guide
9. 9.Amazon Seller Central: Product image guide
10. 10.WordPress: Media Library screen
11. 11.WooCommerce: Adding product images and galleries
12. 12.Baymard Institute: Product page UX, all products need at least one in-scale image (2017)