What is alt text for product images?
Alt text is the short written description of an image stored in the HTML alt attribute, read aloud by screen readers and shown when the image cannot load. For product images it tells the shopper what they would otherwise see, such as the garment, its color, cut and how it is worn, and it also helps search engines understand the picture.
It is different from a caption, which everyone sees under the image, and from the file name. Alt text lives in the code and is written for people who cannot see the image.
Why alt text matters for a shop
- Accessibility. Shoppers using a screen reader hear the alt text in place of the image. Without it, a product gallery is silent or reads out file names.
- Search. Google says it uses alt text together with computer vision and the page content to understand what an image shows. Good alt text helps product images appear in image search for the right queries.
- Fallback. When an image fails to load, the alt text appears in its place.
How to write alt text for clothing
- Say what the image shows, starting with the product: type, color, material where visible, cut.
- Add what makes this image different from the others in the gallery: front, back, detail, worn with a specific outfit.
- Keep it short, usually one sentence. Do not start with "image of" or "photo of"; screen readers already announce an image.
- Use the words a shopper would use, not internal codes.
- Do not stuff keywords. Google warns that filling alt attributes with keywords makes a poor experience and may cause a site to be seen as spam.
For example, "IMG_4821" or "dress dress summer dress cheap dress" tell the shopper nothing. "Sage green linen midi dress with thin straps, worn with white sneakers" does.
Decorative images, such as a background texture, should get an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip them. The W3C alt text decision tree also recommends an empty alt when the same text already sits next to the image, and alt text that names the destination when the image is a link.
How alt text is traditionally produced
In most shops the alt text field sits next to each image in the product admin. Small teams write it by hand when they upload images. Larger ranges generate it from product data, combining name, color and view into a template. Templates are fast but tend to produce the same text for every image of a product, so the view still needs to be added per image.
What drives the cost and time
Alt text is cheap per image and expensive in total. The effort grows with every product, colorway and gallery image, and with every language the shop runs in. The main risk is not cost but neglect: images uploaded in a rush with empty or duplicated alt text.
Alt text with AI, and the NotShot approach
Vision models can draft alt text from the image itself, which helps with large catalogs. The drafts still need a check, mainly for color names and product type, which models often get slightly wrong. For AI-generated product images the rule is the same as for photos: describe the product the shopper is buying, not how the image was made.
NotShot is a Berlin-based tool for on-model product photography without the photoshoot. Whatever tool made the image, the alt text is written by the shop. Every render is judged against your upload. If a render fails the check, you get your credits back. For the wider picture of AI imagery in e-commerce, read AI product photography for e-commerce, explained.
Related terms
- PDP: the product page where the gallery and its alt text live
- Colorway: one color version of a style, worth naming in alt text
- Detail shot: a close-up view that needs its own description
- E-commerce product photography: product images made for online shops
- On-model photography: garments photographed on a person
- AI product photography: product images made with AI tools
- Flat lay to model photo with AI: a step-by-step guide
Questions we get asked
- How long should alt text be?
- As short as it can be while still describing the image, usually one sentence. Put the product first and the view or styling second.
- Should alt text include keywords?
- Use the words a shopper would search for, in a natural sentence. Google warns against filling alt attributes with keywords, as it makes a poor experience and can look like spam.
- Do decorative images need alt text?
- They need an empty alt attribute, written as alt="", so screen readers skip them. Leaving the attribute out entirely can make a screen reader read the file name instead.
- Should every image in a product gallery have different alt text?
- Yes. Each image shows something different, such as the front, the back or a detail, and the alt text should say so. Identical alt text on every image gives a screen reader user no reason to look further.
- Is alt text the same as an image title or caption?
- No. A caption is visible to everyone, and the title attribute shows as a tooltip in some browsers. Alt text replaces the image for people and machines that cannot see it.