Image Alt Text Writer: check and write alt text for every image
Check every image's alt text, write better alt from captions and file names, and copy the article back.
- Free to use
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
Paste your article to check its images
You get every image with its alt text, caption and link, the fixes to make, alt text ideas to edit, and the article back with the new alt text. Or press Try an example.
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Embed this tool on your websiteFree. Paste one code; it runs in your visitors' browsers.
Copy this code into a page of your site. The tool sets no cookies and sends nothing your visitors type to us. Change height="760" if it needs more room.
About the Image Alt Text Writer
Paste your article's HTML from the editor's HTML or code view, or Markdown. For every image you see its alt text, file name, caption, the heading above it and any link around it, with the fixes to make: missing alt text, alt that is only a file name, keyword stuffing, "image of", the same alt on many images and linked images with no text. Choose what each image does, edit the suggested alt text, and copy the article back with the new alt text. It runs in your browser, does not load your images and does not use AI: the suggestions come from fixed templates.
How it works
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01
Copy the article's HTML from your editor's HTML or code view and paste it, or open the file. Add your main keyword and business name if you like.
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02
For each image, choose what it does (shows information, is a link, is a chart, or is only decoration), then pick a suggestion and edit it so it says what the picture shows.
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03
Copy the article with the new alt text back into your editor, or paste each alt text into the image settings, and download the list as a CSV if you need it.
What Google says about alt text
Google calls alt text the most important attribute for describing an image. It uses alt text, with computer vision and the page around the image, to understand what the picture shows, and screen readers read it out. Google asks for useful, information-rich alt text that fits the page, and says filling alt attributes with keywords gives a poor experience and may cause a site to be seen as spam. For an image used as a link, Google uses its alt text as the anchor text.
Decorative, informative and linked images
The W3C images tutorial sorts images by what they do. An informative image needs at least a short description of what it shows. A decorative one, such as a divider, gets an empty alt="" so screen readers skip it; leaving alt out is not the same, because some screen readers then read the file name. A linked image needs alt text that says where the link goes, such as "Book an appointment", not what the picture looks like. Charts and infographics need a short alt and the full detail in the text.
What this tool cannot do
It cannot see your images: it reads the HTML only, so its suggestions come from the caption, the file name, the link and the heading, and you must check each one against the picture. Whether an image is decorative is your call. It does not change your website; you copy the new HTML or alt text back yourself. Limits such as 125 characters for long alt text are our measure, not Google's or the W3C's.
Frequently asked questions
What is alt text?
Alt text is the short description in an image's alt attribute, for example <img src="waiting-area.jpg" alt="Waiting area at our Kothrud clinic">. Screen readers read it out to people who cannot see the image, and Google uses it, with the page around the image, to understand the picture.
How long should alt text be?
Short enough to read as one phrase. The W3C says alt text should be concise, and neither Google nor the W3C sets a character limit. This tool flags alt text over 125 characters, which is our measure. Put longer detail in the caption or the article, where every reader can see it.
Should I put my keyword in alt text?
Only where it describes the image. Google asks for alt text that uses keywords appropriately and in the context of the page, and says filling alt attributes with keywords is keyword stuffing. "Dr. Neha Kulkarni checking the fit of a crown" is better than "best dentist Pune, dentist in Pune, root canal Pune".
When should an image have empty alt text?
When it is only decoration, such as a divider or a background pattern, and a reader would lose nothing if it were removed. The W3C says such images should have alt="" with nothing between the quotes, so screen readers skip them. An image that is the only thing in a link should never have empty alt text, because the link then has no name.
Does the tool use AI to write the alt text?
No. It builds suggestions from your caption, file name, link address and heading with fixed templates, and it never sees the pictures. That is why every suggestion needs a person to check it. Your article stays in your browser and is not sent anywhere.
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