The Draft Bench
Editing Systems

How to Write Alt Text for Blog Images

The Draft Bench · Updated 2026-09-15 · 4 min read
How to Write Alt Text for Blog Images
Quick answerWrite alt text that supplies the information or function an image contributes in its specific page context. Describe the relevant detail in an informative image, name the destination or action of an image-only link, and use an empty alt attribute for a purely decorative image. Give complex charts a short identifier plus an accessible longer explanation. Keep the wording concise, factual and free of keyword stuffing.
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How do you write alt text for blog images?

Write alt text that supplies the information or function an image contributes in its specific page context. Describe the relevant detail in an informative image, name the destination or action of an image-only link, and use an empty alt attribute for a purely decorative image. Give complex charts a short identifier plus an accessible longer explanation. Keep the wording concise, factual and free of keyword stuffing.

Alt text is a text alternative, not a second headline. Decide what the reader needs from the image before drafting the sentence. The examples below are hypothetical editorial exercises, not descriptions of photographs we have inspected.

What information does this image add?

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's informative-image guidance emphasizes meaning in context. Ask what disappears when the image is unavailable.

Imagine a tutorial photograph showing a folder label's placement. “Blue label attached to the upper-right corner of a file drawer” communicates more than “Office furniture.” Omit color if it has no instructional role.

Check that every described detail is actually present. Do not infer a person's identity, emotional state or expertise from appearance. Record the image's purpose in the editorial brief so the writer and image editor agree on what it must communicate.

When should alt text be empty?

W3C's decorative-image guidance recommends alt="" when an image adds no information: purely visual decoration or information sufficiently provided in adjacent text.

An empty attribute differs from omission, which can cause screen readers to announce the filename. Do not enter “decorative” or assume a caption makes every photograph redundant.

An unlinked ornamental divider can be decorative. A screenshot showing an error message absent from the prose is informative. Judge its use, not its format or attractiveness.

W3C's functional-image guidance specifies the action or destination. For an image-only worksheet link, “Download the article planning worksheet” communicates more than “Sheet of paper.”

If text inside that same link already fully conveys its destination and the image adds nothing, empty alt text may avoid repetition. An image-only link still needs an accessible name.

Use “Open full-size image” only if activating it does that. Verify the destination; the illustration cannot establish the link's behavior.

How do you describe a chart or complicated diagram?

W3C's complex-image tutorial pairs a short identifier with a longer text equivalent for essential information. Place the detail nearby or provide a clearly identified link.

For a hypothetical chart comparing draft, review and publication dates, identify the chart and point to its schedule table. Preserve the chart's relationships in the longer explanation.

Supply relevant values, units and patterns. A table exposes data; prose explains the comparison. Verify both against the graphic. “Chart of results” does not convey those results.

How long should the wording be?

W3C's writing tips favor a concise description of purpose, important information first. If that needs more than a brief phrase or sentence, provide a longer description outside the alt attribute.

Usually omit “image of.” Identify the medium when relevant: paintings and photographs may serve different evidential purposes. Use normal punctuation and remove unhelpful repetition.

A useful editorial check is to read the surrounding paragraph and proposed alternative together. If the result repeats the same sentence, reassess what information the image adds before shortening words mechanically.

Google's image guidance says it uses alt text alongside the page's content and computer vision to understand an image. It recommends useful, contextually appropriate wording and warns against keyword stuffing.

Describe the relevant subject naturally. Do not append a list of search phrases to an otherwise complete alternative. Likewise, do not turn an unrelated decorative image into an informative one just to insert a query. This guide makes no promise of a ranking increase from an alt-text edit.

What should the final review record?

We suggest recording the image's purpose, proposed alternative and reviewer beside the asset. For a linked image, include its verified destination; for a complex graphic, include the location of the full explanation.

Check the rendered page after the text is entered. Confirm that the intended alternative is attached to the intended image, decorative images have the correct empty attribute, and longer explanations are discoverable. Ask the person maintaining the publishing system to resolve any uncertainty about its output. This focused check complements the pre-publication audit; it is not a complete accessibility evaluation.

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FAQ

Should the same image always have the same alt text?

Its role can change between pages. W3C explains that informative alternatives depend on the meaning an image contributes in context. Review the surrounding text and reason for including it each time. Reuse wording only when it still supplies the information that this particular placement needs.

Is an empty alt attribute the same as leaving it out?

No. W3C recommends an empty alt attribute for decorative images, while noting that some screen readers may announce a filename when the attribute is absent. Confirm the actual output of your publishing system. A blank field in an editor does not, by itself, establish which HTML was produced.

What should alt text say for an image-only link?

Describe the destination or action that the link provides. W3C distinguishes functional images from images that merely convey information. Check where the link actually leads before naming it. If visible text in that same link already fully communicates its purpose, a redundant image may instead need empty alt text.

Does a chart need every value in its alt attribute?

A complex chart needs a short identifying alternative and a longer explanation of its essential information. W3C describes ways to provide that detail alongside the image or through a clearly identified link. Preserve relevant values and relationships in the longer description rather than compressing an entire chart into one attribute.

Should alt text start with the words image of?

Usually those generic words add little. W3C notes that screen readers already announce images, while a specific medium can matter in some contexts. State that an item is a painting, photograph or illustration when that distinction contributes to understanding. Otherwise, begin with the information the reader actually needs.