A good alt text describes in one sentence what the product image shows: product, color, material and the view, for example "Linen shirt in sage green, back view". In Shopify you add it directly on the image inside the product. Write a separate text for each image, not the product title five times. That way the texts help people using screen readers, Google Image Search and AI assistants that read your product page.
What alt texts are for
Alt text (alternative text) sits in the HTML as the image's alt attribute. It is shown or read aloud when the image can't be seen.
- Accessibility: screen readers read the alt text aloud. Without it, a blind customer only hears "image" or a file name.
- Image search: Google also understands images through the text describing them. A specific alt text helps your image show up for matching searches.
- AI assistants: systems like ChatGPT often read product pages as text. What is in the alt text is available to them. What only appears in the image often is not.
Since June 2025, the European Accessibility Act applies to many online shops in the EU (in Germany via the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz). Micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million annual turnover are exempt for services. Either way, alt texts are a simple measure you should maintain. If you are unsure whether the law applies to you, ask a legal advisor.
How to write a good alt text
Imagine describing the image over the phone to someone who can't see it. Short, specific, no advertising.
- Name the product: what is it? "Ceramic mug", not "product image".
- Name visible features: color, material, pattern, shape. Only what you actually see in the image.
- State the view or setting: front, detail of the seam, worn by a model, on the dining table.
- Keep it short: one sentence is enough. As a rough guide: under 125 characters.
- No filler: "image of" or "photo of" is redundant, the screen reader already says it is an image.
Examples: bad and better
| Bad | Better |
|---|---|
| IMG_4821.jpg | Handmade ceramic mug in matte white with a blue rim |
| Mug | Ceramic mug from above, filled with coffee |
| Best mug buy cheap coffee mug cup gift | Ceramic mug held in a hand, showing its size |
| Linen shirt (same on all 5 images) | Linen shirt in sage green, front view / back view / detail of coconut buttons |
The third row is keyword stuffing. It reads badly for people and does nothing for you on Google. A search term is fine if it honestly describes the image.
Adding alt texts in Shopify
- In Shopify admin, open Products and choose a product.
- In the media section, click an image. The preview opens.
- Enter the alt text in the corresponding field and save.
- Repeat for every image of the product.
Shopify passes the alt text to your theme. Most current themes use it on the product page. If you have an older or heavily customized theme, check the product page source to see whether the alt attribute is actually filled.
If an image is assigned to a specific variant, such as the green shirt for the green variant, the alt text should name the color. Otherwise every variant sounds the same to a screen reader.
Keeping up with many products
With 200 products and five images each, that is 1,000 texts. A few ways to make it realistic:
- Prioritize by revenue: start with the products that sell most or are advertised.
- Main image first: the first image appears in collections, in Google Shopping and when shared. Do it for all products, then the rest.
- Use a pattern: for example "[product] in [color], [view]". It saves thinking time, and you only adjust what the image shows.
- Do it when creating products: new products only go live with alt texts. That way the gap doesn't grow.
Drafting alt texts with Heartly
Heartly checks every product for images without alt text and factors this into the visibility score for Google Shopping and AI assistants. On the paid plan, the "Fix now" assistant (Beta, Shopify) drafts alt texts for the images. You see every suggestion, adjust it if needed and decide what gets saved. Existing texts are not silently overwritten, and every change can be undone for 30 days.
Checklist for every product image
- Alt text exists and is not the file name.
- The product is named.
- Visible color and material are named, if recognizable.
- View or setting is described.
- Each image has its own text.
- No keyword list, no sales slogans.
- Under about 125 characters.
Typical mistakes to avoid
- Repeating text in the image without describing it: if the image shows a size chart or a label, the key content belongs in the alt text or, better, as text on the product page.
- Assumptions instead of observation: don't write "soft linen" if softness isn't visible. Properties you can't see belong in the description.
- Mixing up variants: when you replace images, check whether the alt text still matches the color in the new image.
- Ignoring file names: a descriptive file name like
linen-shirt-sage-front.jpgdoesn't replace alt text, but it doesn't hurt either. Name files sensibly before uploading.
Also plan a short check: once a quarter, open a few product pages and let your phone's read-aloud feature read the page to you. You will hear right away where images have no description or duplicate texts.
One last tip: write down your alt text patterns, for example in a short note for everyone who creates products in your shop. That way a temporary helper writes texts in the same style, and you have less to fix later.
Frequently asked questions
Should the product title be in the alt text?
The product name can be included, but not on its own. Add what the specific image shows. Otherwise all images of a product are identical for screen readers.
Do decorative images need alt text?
Purely decorative elements like dividers or background patterns get an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip them. Product images are never decorative.
Do alt texts affect Google Shopping?
Google Shopping mainly uses the fields in your product feed, such as title, description and image URL. Alt texts work on your product page, which Google also crawls, and in Google Image Search.
Can I import alt texts via CSV?
Yes. The Shopify product export includes the Image Alt Text column. You can fill it and import the file again. Back up the export first.
Check your catalog
Want to know how many of your products are affected right now? The free visibility check works without installing anything. If you want to close the gaps directly in Shopify, Heartly is in the Shopify App Store ($19 per month, 14-day free trial).