What is image alt text?
Image alt text is a short written description of a picture, stored in the page's code, that screen readers read aloud and search engines use to understand the image. For a clothing photo, good alt text names the garment, its colour and how it's worn or shown.
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Example alt text for four Glammo AI images
Blue and white striped shirt tucked into navy trousers, shown full length
Navy pleated midi skirt worn with a white T-shirt, close-up of the pleats
Green hoodie with drawstrings and a small white mountain emblem, close-up
Mustard chunky-knit cardigan with wooden buttons, worn over a white T-shirt
Why does alt text matter?
People who use screen readers hear the alt text in place of the photo. Without it they may hear a file name, or nothing at all, and can't tell which colour or style they're about to buy.
Search engines read alt text too. It helps them understand what a product photo shows, which can help the photo appear in image search for the words a shopper types.
Alt text also shows when an image fails to load, so a slow connection still tells a shopper what the product is.
How do you write alt text for a clothing photo?
Name the garment and its colour
“Olive crew-neck T-shirt”, not “product image”.
Say how it's worn or shown
Worn with jeans, laid flat, on white, or a close-up of the print.
Add the detail that sells it
A cable knit, a pleat, a wooden button or a print.
Keep it to one sentence
Enough to identify the product, then stop.
Leave out “image of”
Screen readers already announce that it's an image.
Write for people, not keywords
A list of search terms reads badly aloud and helps nobody.
How do you add alt text to product photos?
- 01
Look at each image on its own
A main image, a detail and a packshot each show something different, so each needs different text.
- 02
Write one plain sentence
Garment, colour, then how it's worn or shown, plus one detail that matters.
- 03
Add it when you upload
Type it into the alt text field for each image in your shop's product settings.
Weak alt text or useful alt text?
| Weak alt text | Useful alt text |
|---|---|
| IMG_2041.jpg | Olive crew-neck T-shirt with a small sun emblem, laid flat |
| Product photo | Navy floral midi dress with puff sleeves, full length |
| dress summer dress best dress sale | Blue linen wrap dress tied at the waist, close-up |
| Model wearing clothes | Camel double-breasted coat, buttoned, worn with black trousers |
Common questions
How long should alt text be?
Alt text should be long enough to identify the product, usually one short sentence. Name the garment, its colour and how it's shown, and stop there.
Does alt text help SEO?
Alt text helps search engines understand what an image shows, which can help product photos appear in image search. Write it for people first: clear, specific descriptions serve both.
Does every product image need alt text?
Every product image needs its own alt text, because each one shows something different. Purely decorative images, such as background patterns, can have empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
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