How to Add and Optimize Image Alt Text on Shopify

Alt text might be invisible to most shoppers, but it's one of the simplest ways to improve accessibility and boost SEO on your Shopify store. It tells screen readers what an image shows and gives search engines context they can’t get from visuals alone. 

If your images aren’t loading or your visitors are using assistive tech, alt text becomes the only description they have.

This guide shows how to add alt text to images in Shopify, how to write it properly, and what real examples look like across products and pages.

What Is Alt Text in Shopify?

Alt text (short for "alternative text") is a description you assign to an image in your Shopify store. It's used by screen readers for accessibility and by search engines for indexing image content. 

Unlike file names or captions, alt text is embedded in the HTML image tag and isn’t usually visible unless something breaks.

Well-written alt text helps:

• Make your store more inclusive for visually impaired users
• Improve your rankings in image search results
• Provide a backup description if an image fails to load

To get the benefits of alt text, you need to add it to your images manually. Shopify makes this process straightforward through its admin panel. Here’s how to apply it in the most common areas.

How to Add Alt Text to Product Images

Before you can optimize alt text, you need to know where and how to add it to your product visuals.

Steps to add Alt Text to product images

1. Go to Products in your Shopify admin and click a product.

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2. In the Media section, hover over an image and click the ALT button or pencil/edit icon.

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3. Enter your description in the Image alt text field.

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4. Click Done, then Save the product.

How to Add Alt Text to Collection Images

Collection images often appear at the top of collection pages or in promotional sections across the site. Adding descriptive alt text to these visuals improves clarity for screen readers and gives context to search engines about the products being grouped.

Steps to add Alt Text to collection pages:

1. Go to Products > Collections.
2. Select a collection.
3. Click Edit on the collection image.
4. Add alt text and save.

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How to Add Alt Text to Blog Post Images

Blog post images contribute to storytelling and content structure, but they also need alt text for SEO and accessibility. Whether it's a featured image or an inline visual, make sure each one has a short, relevant description.

Steps to add Alt Text to blog post images:

1. Go to the Online Store, then go to blog posts and click on a blog.

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2. For the featured image, click the image and use the alt text field.

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3. Change the alt text

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4. Click Save

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Once you've added alt text to your images, the next step is making sure it works for both accessibility and search. That starts with how you write it.

How to Optimize Image Alt Text for SEO and Accessibility

Alt text does more than fill in an image tag; it supports real users and shapes how search engines interpret your content. Writing it well means being clear, direct, and purposeful with your descriptions.

Follow these tips to optimize your Alt Text:

• Keep it under 125 characters (screen readers may cut longer text).
• Be specific: describe the image in plain language.
• Include the product type and key variant info (like color, size, or material).
• Use keywords only when they fit naturally.
• Avoid starting with phrases like "a picture of"—they don't add value
• Don’t add alt text to decorative images or images already described by nearby text.
• Leave alt text blank (alt="") for purely decorative elements to avoid cluttering screen reader output.
• Review and update your alt text periodically as your product images or SEO goals change.

Theory only goes so far, seeing how alt text works in practice makes the difference. The following Shopify examples break down what strong alt text looks like next to common missteps.

Shopify Alt Text Examples: Good vs Bad

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of what works and what doesn’t:

Alt text should match the purpose of the image, whether it’s functional (like a button) or decorative (like a banner).

Challenges of Managing Alt Text at Scale

Manually writing and maintaining alt text can get overwhelming as your store grows. Shopify doesn't offer a built-in way to edit or review alt text in bulk, and product updates often lead to gaps or outdated image descriptions. 

Tracking what's missing, reapplying changes after uploads, and keeping everything aligned with SEO and accessibility guidelines quickly becomes a manual burden, especially across hundreds of SKUs.

Scalable Alt Text Management with StarApps

To simplify alt text creation across large Shopify stores, StarApps Variant Alt Text King: SEO offers a focused solution built for speed, accuracy, and compliance.

This app allows you to generate SEO-friendly alt text for all product variant images using dynamic templates based on product titles, tags, variants, types, or brand names. It syncs daily to ensure that new product images are automatically tagged, reducing the need for manual edits.

Key advantages:

• Auto-sync alt text daily to stay current as you add or update products
• Use product data variables like variant name, title, and tags to generate context-aware alt text
• Improve accessibility and SEO by adding relevant, accurate ALT text across all images
• Built-in integration with StarApps Variant Image Automator, ensuring accurate tagging across grouped images
• Compliant with ADA and WCAG standards, improving accessibility for screen readers
• Zero code required—fully managed from the Shopify admin

Alt Text King is a free app for Shopify stores that is explicitly designed to eliminate repetitive editing work. It’s ideal for stores of any size, whether you're managing 100 products or scaling beyond 10,000. Install Alt Text King for free.

FAQs

1. Does Shopify automatically generate alt text for images?

No. Shopify does not auto-generate alt text. You must manually add it through the admin or use an app like Alt Text King to automate the process.

2. Can I use the same alt text for all my product images?

It’s not recommended. Alt text should be specific to each image to provide context and improve both SEO and accessibility.

3. Should I write alt text for decorative images?

No. For purely decorative images, leave the alt attribute empty (alt="") so screen readers skip them.

4. Does alt text affect SEO?

Yes. Well-written alt text helps search engines understand your images and can boost your visibility in image search results.

5. Is there a bulk edit option for alt text in Shopify?

Shopify doesn’t support bulk editing of alt text natively. You’ll need to use an app like StarApps Alt Text King or work with export/import spreadsheets.

Reference:

1. https://www.shopify.com/blog/image-alt-text 
2. https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/product-media/add-alt-text 
3. https://tiny-img.com/blog/image-alt-text-seo/ 
4. https://catsy.com/blog/alt-text-on-shopify/ 
5. https://egnition.io/resources/image-optimization/how-to-add-alt-text-to-product-images-in-your-shopify-store 
6. https://avada.io/blog/how-set-image-alt-text-shopify/ 
7. https://www.caseo.ai/blog/how-to-effectively-write-alt-text-for-your-product-images-in-shopify