How to Write Alt Text Like a Pro
2025-01-08
If you've ever heard the term alt text and wondered what all the fuss is about, you're not alone. But here's the thing: alt text is crucial for making your website more accessible, SEO-friendly, and user-centric. Plus, it’s super easy to get right once you know the basics.
In this blog, we're going to break down what alt text is, why it matters, and most importantly, how to write it the right way. Let’s dive in!
What Is Alt Text, Anyway?
Alt text (short for “alternative text”) is a written description of an image that appears when the image can’t be viewed. It's often used by screen readers to help visually impaired users understand what's in an image. But it also helps with SEO (search engine optimization) and can even improve your page's loading speed. So yeah, it’s pretty important!
How to Write Alt Text Like a Pro
Now, let’s talk about how to write alt text that’s both helpful and easy for everyone to understand. Follow these simple guidelines to make sure you're doing it right.
1. Be Descriptive and Concise
Alt text should describe the content and function of the image clearly and briefly—aim for 125 characters or less. You don’t need to go into a ton of detail, but make sure you give enough info for someone who can’t see the image to understand what it’s about.
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: “Athletes”
- Good Alt Text: “Track athletes at the starting line of a race on a sunny day, surrounded by trees and spectators.”
See the difference? The second one paints a clearer picture and is far more helpful.
2. Context Matters
Always tailor the alt text to the context in which the image appears. What’s the image trying to convey in the bigger picture of your content? If the image is meant to support a certain point or highlight an idea, your alt text should reflect that.
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: “A dog.”
- Good Alt Text: “A playful dog running through a sunlit park during a spring afternoon.”
The second one helps users understand the vibe and the feeling of the image, which is super important when conveying a message that matches the surrounding content.
3. Function Over Form for Functional Images
If the image is doing something functional—like a button, link, or icon—your alt text should focus on the action or the function of that image, not just its appearance.
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: “Search icon.”
- Good Alt Text: “Search for articles on home improvement.”
For functional images like buttons, your alt text should describe what happens when the user clicks on the icon or image.
4. Leave Decorative Images Blank
Sometimes, images are just there for decoration (like a pretty background image or a design element). If an image doesn't add meaningful content, you don’t need to describe it at all. Just leave the alt text empty (alt=""). This tells screen readers to skip over the image entirely, helping to keep things clean and efficient.
Example:
- Decorative Image: A background pattern of circles.
- Alt Text: alt=""
This is the best practice for images that don't provide any useful information.
5. What About Complex Images Like Charts or Graphs?
When you use images like charts, graphs, or infographics, your alt text should provide a quick summary. But if the information is complex, it’s a good idea to link to a more detailed explanation.
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: “Graph.”
- Good Alt Text: “Bar chart showing sales growth from 2023 to 2024. Detailed report linked below.”
This helps users quickly understand the key takeaway of the image, and if they want more info, they can easily access the full content.
6. Text in Images
Sometimes an image includes text, and in those cases, it's important to include that text in the alt description. This helps people who can’t see the text, or if the image is too small to read clearly.
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: "Birthday Invitation"
- Good Alt Text: “Elegant birthday invitation celebrating Diana's birthday on October 25, 2021, in Malaga, Spain. RSVP to 00 777 889.’”
Don’t leave out the info that could be crucial for understanding the image!
7. Avoid Redundancy
You don’t need to repeat information that’s already mentioned in the surrounding text. If the text next to the image already explains what the image is about, your alt text should just complement that.
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: “Photo of a dog with a ball.”
- Text Nearby: “Our dog loves playing fetch!”
- Good Alt Text: “Dog fetching a ball at the park.”
In this case, you don't need to mention "photo of a dog," because it's already obvious from the surrounding content.
8. Skip "Image of" or "Picture of"
When writing alt text, don’t start with phrases like “Image of” or “Picture of.” It’s redundant and just takes up space. Get straight to the description!
Example:
- Bad Alt Text: "Image of a sunset over the ocean."
- Good Alt Text: “Orange and pink sunset reflecting on calm ocean waves.”
Alt Text Examples for Different Formats
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s check out some examples for different types of images:
1. Logos
When adding a logo, the alt text should describe what the logo represents.
- Poor Alt Text: “Harvard.”
- Good Alt Text: “Harvard's Crimson Veritas Shield.”
2. Icons
Icons are often used for actions, like clicking or downloading.
- Poor Alt Text: “Printer icon.”
- Good Alt Text: “Print the Event Schedule.”
3. Images as Links
When an image is a link, describe what will happen when it’s clicked.
- Poor Alt Text: “Question Mark.”
- Good Alt Text: “Contact Support.”
Why Alt Text Is So Important
Alt text does more than just help those who can’t see images. It also boosts your SEO rankings and helps your pages load faster. Plus, it shows your commitment to making your site accessible to all users—so don’t skip this step!
Wrapping Up: Alt Text Made Simple
Alt text is a small thing that makes a big impact. It’s your chance to make sure everyone, no matter how they’re accessing your content, can understand and enjoy the images you share. So, take a moment to write thoughtful, descriptive alt text, and your website will be that much more inclusive—and SEO-friendly, too!
Ready to start updating your alt text? Let’s make the web a more accessible place, one image at a time!
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November: news from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon and Taylor Swift (Yes, Taylor)
2022-12-02
This was the month of big changes in social media platforms. With the arrival of "Elon Musk's Twitter", a new opportunity opened up to create a similar site but dedicated exclusively to connecting Swiftties, i.e. Taylor Swift fans; and with new features on YouTube and Instagram, brands must adapt to stay relevant.
"Elon Musk's Twitter": a new era
At the beginning of November we were told about the billionaire's purchase of Twitter, and now, at the end of the month, not very favorable changes have been announced for the platform, its users and brands.
Among the most relevant news we have:
- The massive layoffs of employees and resignations of entire teams as they disagreed with Musk's policy to work "high intensity" shifts, which led to a temporary closure of the offices.
- The implementation of "Twitter Blue", to verify official accounts for a price of $8, resulted in huge losses for global brands such as Nintendo, as users decided to clone their accounts and pay to make them official, boycotting them on the platform.
- Omnicom, the big advertising platform, recommended its clients stop the ads of this new “Elon Musk Twitter” because his changes mean a high risk for the brand's reputation. Musk, called himself a "free speech absolutist" and this may affect the social media network's content moderation.
*Actual tweet from Musk, where it is assumed he is referencing the rumored Twitter crash.
Shopping on YouTube "Shorts"
In the YouTube short videos section, it will be possible for users to make purchases of products by 2023. Thus, a 45% commission will be paid to a select group of video creators based in the United States who sell products and in countries such as India, Brazil, Canada, USA and Australia, the feature is already being tested so that users can make purchases.
New Instagram features
Have you always wanted to be able to schedule your posts on Instagram? Now it's possible. Although this is a feature that already exists on several social media platforms and other sites such as Hootsuite, Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has announced that it is now available to do so directly from the platform, allowing Instagram Business Accounts to schedule content up to 75 days in advance.
There is also the arrival of the tool to add music to posts of just 1 photo, something that was only possible in Reels and Stories. While it is not available to all users, the feature will be below the options to tag people and add locations.
*Mosseri, head of Instagram, announced the platform's new tools.
SwiftSpace: the social network for Swifties
It's no secret the power of Taylor Swift. With her new album, she reached the top 10 on the Billboard chart, something that almost no other artist has been able to achieve; and now she is hitting the social media platforms with SwiftSpace, where fans can meet, chat and even arrange a date at the artist's next concert.
This app has already reached the #25 spot in the Social Media category of the App Store and is #13 in Spain.
This shows us that it has responded to a clear need of its followers that was probably discovered thanks to
a UX research.
Amazon Clinic: Amazon's online healthcare consulting services
The eCommerce brand's new bet is to offer medical consultations for minor ailments such as acne, conjunctivitis, migraines and hair loss. This is not Amazon's first approach to the medical category, as it also has Amazon Pharmacy, a company dedicated to the sale of medicines.
Want to learn more about how these developments can affect or improve your brand? Contact us and we will be happy to answer your questions.
Create Personas and Consumer Journeys to improve your business
2022-12-02
All the answers you need to design the perfect product or service are in the Personas and their consumer journey. Read on to find out how you can get inside the minds of your users to deliver a great experience.
Once you understand that by putting yourself in people's shoes you can understand what they are really looking for, you open up a world of opportunities to develop better strategies to reach them and make them feel satisfied with the products you offer them.
The first step: you need to create a Buyer Persona
A buyer persona, or simply Persona, is a profile you create of your ideal user based on the data you have gathered.
What should this Persona have?
1. A name and a face. Although it is a fictitious character created from customer information, giving it a name and a photo allows your team and your potential partners to recognize it more easily.
2. Their needs and goals. Analyze what they want to achieve in the short, long, or medium term and what they need to do it.
3. Their inspiration. We all have motivations to reach a goal. Here you must understand what they are passionate about and the barriers or feelings that prevent them from getting there.
4. Demographic information. This is the most analytical data about your Persona: age, where they live, their purchasing power and even how comfortable they are using digital tools.
5. Their lifestyle. What is a normal day in the life of your consumer like? what is their job? what are their hobbies? are they married, or single, do they have kids? do they like sports or music?
6. Their purchases. Analyze how often they make purchases, from which channel (in stores or online) and if possible, the amount of money they spend on them.
With a defined Buyer Persona, you can now develop a Consumer Journey
You already know what your ideal customer is like, now you need to know each step they take when deciding to buy a product. This is what is represented in the consumer journey.
What are the stages of the consumer journey?
1. Awareness. This stage is when a person "activates" a need, but does not know how to act to satisfy it. Like when you are hungry, but you don't yet know what you want to eat. It is useful for your brand to recognize what your user's need is, when it appears and what stimulates it.
2. Consideration. Your customer already knows what options he has to respond to the need he has because he has seen or heard some suggestions. People are exposed to advertising digitally, in the streets or with people's comments. This is how they learn about the options they have. Your mission is to be present in the channels they consume so that they also consider your brand among the alternatives.
3. Decision. Once the person gathers the necessary information about the options they have and prioritizes the ones that best meet their needs, that is when they decide to take action. If they are a potential customer, they will seek more information about your brand, contact you or attend one of your events.
4. Purchase. After carefully analyzing your brand, the user is convinced that you are the ideal option and decides to make the purchase. This step is vital because it is not only about a sale, but about the whole user experience: ease, speed, customer service, proximity and payment options, among many other factors.
5. Retention. After the purchase, the user defines whether he had a good or bad experience with your product or service.
A satisfied customer is a customer who is likely to buy your products again. That is why you need to follow up with a satisfaction survey to know how he/she interacted with your product and if he/she had any inconvenience after the purchase to react quickly.
Summary: These are the reasons why you should include a Persona and Consumer Journey in your strategy:
- It allows you to reach more potential customers. If you already know where people are looking for you and what needs they have, it will be easy for you to identify actions to reach them.
- Optimize your marketing plan. By knowing what stage the user is in, you can invest in solving their doubts in the channels they are looking for information.
- Improve the user experience. By doing the satisfaction survey or using one of our services people can help you identify what you can improve in the purchase and post-sale process.
December: news about AI, new features of your apps and recent UX-based ideas.
2022-12-02
This year is coming to an end, but tech innovations do not stop. Artificial intelligence was the great protagonist this month and will surely continue to be the talk of 2023, because although it represents great advances for brands, mobile apps and user experience, several people in the industry are protesting because it poses a risk to many positions that currently exist.
Lensa, the mobile app that makes portraits with AI
The app from developer Prisma Lab became a trend among millions of users for its feature to develop portraits based on users' photos for free. It is said to have generated more than 22.2 million downloads and nearly $29 million in charges for its premium features.
So far, it sounds pretty appealing. However, it sparked an outcry from millions of illustrators and game developers who disagree with the "AI-generated images" and claim that you can't call it art by comparing the amount of time and effort they put into each image vs. the immediacy of one generated by the app. Many of them fear that this is the future of the industry and the farewell to their job.
*Examples of portraits made with AI taken from Lensa's official Instagram account, versus the protest image designers have posted on social media and major design platforms.
Amazon works to eliminate barcodes
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon is working on his own with Artificial Intelligence to innovate a more streamlined payment system without barcodes, which could result in faster shipments and happier customers.
This new system analyzes data from product photos, stores product dimensions, features, packaging text and more to create a unique identifier for each product. It is currently being tested and improved at Amazon's logistics centers in Barcelona and Hamburg.
Its ultimate goal is to reduce the handling of products by employees to save time, replacing them with robotic arms that are more accurate and better suited for AI to recognize each package.
Skype now translates video calls in real time
The new technology provided by artificial intelligence goes beyond mobile apps, it can also be used for voice assistants and smart cameras to enhance the user experience. This is what Skype's new TruVoice feature will demonstrate.
TruVoice allows video callers to communicate in the same language in real time and what's even more amazing is that it does it using the same voice of the person who is speaking. How? Thanks to speech recognition and language processing.
It is currently available to translate English, Spanish, French, German and Chinese; for group video calls and for phone calls.
*Conversation via Skype where two men test the new real-time translation feature in Spanish.
Instagram notes and more new features in the mobile app
In the latest update of the social media appeared the "notes", a function similar to Stories lasting only 24 hours, but these are to "share your thoughts" in a format of just text and emojis. They are visible at the top of the direct messages section and only allow a maximum of 60 characters.
To generate more interaction, Instagram is testing a function similar to what the app " BeReal '' does, where users will be asked to take a picture of their front and back camera of their phone. In addition, it will put a "pass it on" sticker so that when uploading a Storie you can nominate one of your friends to take a Storie on the same topic and thus follow a chain.
*The change from Google Data Studio to Looker Studio, reflected in its logo.
It is impossible to stop innovation and more and more brands are betting on artificial intelligence, but do you think this poses a risk to current positions in the advertising and technology industry? Tell us in the comments.