The importance of effective Alt Text for product images

Hi again 👋

If you were asked to describe this image to somebody in the next room, what would you say? (watch this online)

On a travel blog, you might describe the scene: “Woman leaning against a wall in an industrial alleyway, looking off into the distance.”

The focus is the place. The mood. What’s happening.

But on a product page, the job is different. Now the image exists to help someone decide whether they want to buy a product. Your product.

So the description should focus on what drives that decision:

The fit.
The colour.
The material.
The key features.

In this case - a good image description (a.k.a the alt text) might be: "Women’s relaxed-fit burnt orange button-up shirt with long sleeves, styled with high-waisted green trousers."

It's the same image, but a very different job. That is where useful alt text starts. Not by describing everything in the image, but by describing the right thing for that context.

Why does good alt text matter?

Because for some customers, that description is all they have. If an image does not load, the alt text is what appears. If someone uses assistive technology, the alt text helps them understand the product. So this is not a small technical detail. It sits right in the middle of product understanding.

Ready for a real life example?

In this video I looked at a real product page where every image technically had alt text. It passes all automated tests, but every image was described the same way (watch the video to find out!).

This may satisfy a basic check that alt text exists, but it doesn't help a customer understand what they are being shown.

There is no fit. No colour. No detail. And no useful distinction between one image and the next.

And that means information is being removed at the exact moment somebody is trying to make a buying decision.

How to test your own alt text?

A simple way to check your own site: Ignore the image.

Read the alt text on its own and ask: Would this help someone understand the product well enough to feel confident buying?

If not, the description is not doing its job.

Need help? Here's a popular article about How to write good alt text for product images.

Talk soon,
Dave

P.S. Have you ever spotted something like this on your own product pages? Hit reply and let me know - I read every reply.