Alt Text

Quick Definition

Alt text (alternative text) is a description you add to an image that tells screen readers and search engines what the image shows. It also displays when the image fails to load.

MDN documentation for the HTML img element and alt attribute

What Is Alt Text?

The alt attribute on <img>. MDN: "defines text that can replace the image." Purposes: accessibility (screen readers), fallback (broken images), SEO (Google can't see images).

Good: alt="WordPress dashboard showing Posts menu". Bad: alt="image". Empty alt="" for decorative images only.

In WordPress: set via Media Library or Block Editor sidebar.

Why It Matters

Where accessibility meets SEO. Required by WCAG, helps Google Image ranking. See our SEO checklist and image optimization guide.

Sources: MDN: The Image Embed Element, web.dev: Write helpful alt text, Google: Google Images Best Practices

Related Terms

Featured ImageA featured image is the main visual that represents a WordPress post or page. It typically appears at the top of articles, in blog listings, and when shared on social media.Image OptimizationImage optimization is the process of reducing image file sizes without visible quality loss. It makes your WordPress site faster and improves Core Web Vitals scores.SEOSEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your website so it ranks higher in search engine results like Google. Higher rankings mean more free, organic traffic to your WordPress site.

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