Shopify alt text: how to write it and add it in bulk

By AbleAisle. Updated 15 October 2026.

Alt text (alternative text) is a short written description of an image. Screen readers read it aloud to customers who are blind or have low vision, browsers show it when an image fails to load, and search engines use it to understand what an image shows. On a Shopify store, product photos are often the main way customers judge a product, so missing or vague alt text means some customers can't tell what you're selling.

This guide covers what the accessibility guidelines say, how to write good alt text for product images, and the three ways to add it in Shopify: one image at a time, in bulk with a CSV file, and in bulk with an app.

What the guidelines say

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the most widely used technical standard for web accessibility. WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1, Non-text Content (Level A) says that images which carry information need a text alternative that serves the same purpose. Images that are purely decorative should be hidden from assistive technology instead, which in HTML means an empty alt attribute (alt="").

The W3C's alt decision tree is a quick way to decide which kind of alt text an image needs.

How to write good alt text for product images

Shopify's own help centre recommends keeping alt text brief and descriptive. The field accepts up to 512 characters, but Shopify recommends 125 characters or fewer (Shopify Help Center: Adding alt text to media).

• Describe what a shopper needs to know. Colour, material, pattern, style and anything that makes this image different from the others. "Navy wool beanie with a white fold-over cuff" is more useful than "Beanie".
• Make each image of a product different. If a product has five photos, describe what each one shows: "Back view showing the zip pocket", "Model wearing the jacket open". Repeating the product title on every image tells a screen reader user nothing new.
• Don't start with "image of" or "photo of". Screen readers already announce that it's an image.
• Include any text that's in the image. If a banner says "20% off all knitwear", the alt text should say that too.
• Don't stuff keywords. Write for people. A natural, accurate description is also what search engines can use best.
• Leave decorative images empty. Background textures, dividers and purely decorative flourishes don't need a description.

A few examples:

• Weak: Blue dress. Better: Sleeveless midi dress in cornflower blue linen with a tie waist.
• Weak: IMG_4821. Better: Close-up of the hand-stitched leather strap and brass buckle.
• Weak: Best organic coffee beans buy online cheap. Better: 1 kg bag of whole-bean medium roast coffee with a resealable zip.

Option 1: add alt text one image at a time

This is fine for a small catalogue. In the Shopify admin:

1. Go to Products and open the product.
2. Click a product image to open the media preview.
3. Click Add alt text (or edit the existing text).
4. Type the description and click Save alt text.

These steps follow Shopify's help article on alt text. Shopify's media editor may also suggest alt text for images that don't have any; check each suggestion before you accept it.

Images you add through the theme editor (for example hero banners and slideshows) are managed separately from product media, so check those too.

Option 2: add alt text in bulk with a CSV file

Shopify's product CSV has an Image alt text column (Shopify Help Center: Using CSV files to import and export products). For a large catalogue you can:

1. Export your products from Products > Export.
2. Open the file in a spreadsheet and fill in the Image alt text column. Each image has its own row.
3. Import the file with Overwrite products with matching handles selected.

Be careful: when you overwrite products, blank cells in columns you include can overwrite existing data, and changing option values can recreate variants. Shopify's article explains the rules. Keep a copy of your original export, and test with a few products first.

Option 3: draft alt text in bulk with an app

If writing hundreds of descriptions by hand isn't realistic, an app can draft them for you to review. AbleAisle, our Shopify app, lists product and collection images that are missing alt text, drafts a description for each one, and lets you edit them before anything is saved. Nothing changes in your store until you approve it.

Whatever tool you use, read the drafts. Automated descriptions can be wrong about details that matter to shoppers, like colour or material, and only you know what makes each product different.

Check your work

After adding alt text, check a few product pages:

• Use a free automated checker (browser extensions such as axe DevTools or WAVE flag images with no alt attribute).
• Turn on your device's screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone, Narrator on Windows, TalkBack on Android) and listen to a product page.

Automated tools can tell you an image has no alt text, but not whether the text is accurate. That part needs a person.