A photo of your team at a community event may look great on a page, but a visitor using a screen reader experiences it through the words you provide. Knowing how to write alt text gives every important image a job: communicating useful information to people who cannot see it clearly while giving search engines better context about the page.
For Marin and Sonoma County organizations, this is not a minor finishing detail. Alt text supports a more welcoming website, strengthens content quality, and helps ensure the polished images on your site do not become blank spots in the customer experience.
What Alt Text Is and Why It Matters
Alternative text, usually called alt text, is a short written description added to an image in your website’s content management system. Screen readers announce it to visitors who are blind or have low vision. It can also appear when an image cannot load and helps search engines understand what the image represents.
The accessibility case comes first. A website should not require someone to see a photograph, icon, chart, or button in order to understand its message or complete a task. Good alt text helps visitors navigate with more independence, whether they are reviewing your services, learning about a program, or deciding whom to contact.
There is an SEO benefit, too, but it is often misunderstood. Alt text is not a place to repeat every service, city, and keyword your organization hopes to rank for. Search engines use many signals to understand a page. Useful image descriptions can reinforce relevant context, while repetitive keyword stuffing makes the experience worse for screen reader users and can weaken the quality of your content.
Think of alt text as practical communication, not hidden marketing copy.
How to Write Alt Text for Different Images
The right description depends on what the image contributes to the page. Before writing anything, ask one simple question: if this image disappeared, what information would the visitor miss?
Informative photos
Describe the subject and the detail that matters in context. A page about a nonprofit’s food distribution program might include a photo of volunteers packing grocery boxes. “Volunteers pack grocery boxes for Sonoma County families at a food distribution event” tells the user what is happening and why it matters.
“People volunteering” is technically accurate but vague. On the other hand, a long inventory of clothing, facial expressions, background scenery, and brand colors creates unnecessary noise. Aim for the meaningful point of the image, usually in a concise phrase or sentence.
Context can change the best wording. The same photo might be described differently on a volunteer recruitment page than in an annual report because the surrounding content gives it a different purpose.
Product, service, and portfolio images
For businesses that sell a product or show completed work, name what is being shown and identify distinguishing details that help a prospective customer. A remodeling company could use: “Custom walnut kitchen cabinets with brass pulls in a San Rafael home.” A landscape architect might use: “Drought-tolerant front garden with a stone path and native grasses.”
Avoid adding location names solely to target local search terms. Include a place when it is relevant to the project, story, or customer decision. Specificity is useful when it describes the image, not when it turns every image into an advertisement.
Functional images and icons
If an image acts as a control, the alt text should describe the action, not the artwork. A magnifying-glass icon that opens search should be labeled “Search.” An envelope icon that opens an email form should say “Email us” or “Contact us,” depending on the destination.
This distinction is easy to miss in visual design. A screen reader user needs to know what selecting the element will do. They do not need to hear “blue envelope icon.”
Decorative images
Not every image needs alt text. Background flourishes, divider lines, abstract textures, and photos that add no information should generally use empty alt text, written in code as `alt=””`. This tells assistive technology to skip the image.
Do not write “decorative image,” “blank,” or “image of” for these elements. Those labels create interruptions without adding value. Decorative decisions should be made carefully, though. If a visual contains text, directs a visitor to take action, or communicates part of the page’s message, it is not purely decorative.
Logos, charts, and images containing text
For a company logo, the organization name is usually enough. “Bright House Media” is more useful than “Bright House Media logo.” If a logo also functions as a home-page link, the accessible label may need to reflect that action.
Charts, infographics, and diagrams require more thought. A brief alt text can identify the chart and state its main takeaway, such as “Bar chart showing a 38 percent increase in online appointment requests from January to June.” When the data itself is essential, provide a nearby text explanation or a data table as well. Alt text alone is rarely the best place to communicate a complex set of numbers.
If an image includes text that a visitor must read, include that text in the alt text or, preferably, as real HTML text on the page. Text baked into an image can be hard to resize, translate, select, and understand with assistive technology.
A Simple Process for Writing Better Alt Text
A dependable process keeps image descriptions consistent across a growing site. Start by identifying the image’s purpose on that specific page. Then describe the essential subject, action, or message in plain language. Finally, read the description with the nearby heading and copy. If it repeats information already stated, shorten it or mark the image as decorative.
For example, imagine a page with the heading “Meet Our Maintenance Team” followed by a team photo. “Bright House Media website maintenance team” may be enough. If the photograph shows staff reviewing a website dashboard, “Team members review a website performance dashboard” adds useful context. You do not need to begin with “Photo of” because the screen reader already announces that it is an image.
Keep most alt text concise, but do not chase an arbitrary character count. A simple headshot may need five words. A project photo may need 15. A detailed diagram may require a short alt description plus a longer written explanation nearby. The goal is clarity, not fitting every image into the same formula.
Common Alt Text Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake is treating every image the same way. Adding descriptions to purely decorative images forces visitors to listen to content that has no purpose. Leaving important images blank does the opposite, removing information that sighted visitors receive immediately.
Another problem is writing file names or internal labels as alt text. “IMG_4921,” “hero-final-v3,” and “stock photo” do not help anyone. The same is true of generic descriptions such as “image,” “graphic,” or “business photo.” Use words that explain what the visitor should understand.
Keyword stuffing deserves special attention. An alt tag like “San Rafael web design, Sonoma County SEO, WordPress developer, website design agency” is neither a description nor a good user experience. If the image genuinely shows a web design project, describe the work shown. Let the visible page copy carry the broader service and location messaging.
Finally, do not rely on automated image descriptions without review. AI tools and platform suggestions can save time, especially on large media libraries, but they can miss context, identify subjects incorrectly, or overlook the reason an image appears on a page. A person who understands your audience and message should make the final call.
Make Alt Text Part of Your Website Workflow
The easiest time to write alt text is when you add an image, not six months later during an accessibility audit. Build it into your publishing checklist alongside image compression, file naming, captions, headings, and mobile review. For organizations with multiple contributors, a few examples in your content guidelines can prevent inconsistency.
WordPress makes the field easy to find in the Media Library and image settings, but entering text is only the first step. Review important pages with a keyboard and screen reader when possible, particularly forms, service pages, donation pages, and navigation elements. Those are the places where unclear labels can become a real barrier.
A well-managed website is built from dozens of choices like this. The next time you upload an image, pause long enough to ask what someone needs to know if they cannot see it. That small, thoughtful step makes your site clearer, more accessible, and more useful to the people you want to serve.
