Valence Metrics

How to add alt text to Shopify product images in bulk

· 6 min read

Alt text is the short description a screen reader reads aloud instead of an image. On a product page it often decides whether a blind customer knows what they are buying. Here are three ways to add it in Shopify, depending on how many images you have.

Why alt text matters

Customers who use a screen reader cannot see your product photos. Without alt text they hear nothing, or only a file name such as "IMG_4821.jpg". Missing alt text is a common accessibility issue in online stores, and it is covered by success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content) of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Alt text also tells search engines what an image shows, which can help your products appear in image search.

What good product alt text looks like

  • Describe what is visible: product, colour, material, angle. Example: "Linen summer dress in sage green, back view".
  • Keep it short: Shopify recommends 125 characters or fewer; the maximum is 512.
  • Skip "image of" or "photo of": screen readers already announce that it is an image.
  • Make each image different: if a product has five photos, say what each one shows (front, detail, worn by a model).
  • Don't stuff keywords: write for a person, not for a search engine.

Method 1: one image at a time in the Shopify admin

Best for a handful of products.

  1. In your Shopify admin, go to Products and open a product.
  2. In the Media section, click the image.
  3. Click Add alt text, enter the text and click Save alt text (Shopify Help Center).

This is reliable but slow: a store with 300 products and four images each means 1,200 edits.

Method 2: the product CSV

Best if you are comfortable with spreadsheets. The Shopify product CSV has an Image alt text column (Shopify Help Center).

  1. Go to Products › Export and export the products you want to edit.
  2. Make a copy of the file as a backup.
  3. Open the CSV in a spreadsheet tool and fill in the Image alt text column. Each image has its own row.
  4. Go to Products › Import, choose the file and select Overwrite products with matching handles.

Be careful: an import overwrites the product fields in the file. Do not delete other columns or rows, and test with a few products first.

Method 3: in bulk with an app

Best for larger catalogues or if you want suggestions. Valence lists every product image without alt text and suggests a description from your product data, for example the product name, product type and brand. Suggestions are based on product data, not on the image itself, so adjust them until each one describes that specific photo. Then save the ones you want. The text is stored on the image itself, so it works in every theme and stays even if you uninstall the app.

Images this does not cover

  • Theme images such as banners and slideshows: Online Store › Themes › Customize, select the section, then edit the image's alt text.
  • Collection images: Products › Collections, open the collection and edit the image's alt text.
  • Decorative images that carry no information (patterns, dividers) should have empty alt text, so screen readers skip them. Some themes fall back to the product title when alt text is empty, so check that the page really outputs alt="".

Quick checklist

  • Every product image has alt text
  • Each text describes what that specific image shows
  • Texts are under 125 characters
  • Banner and slideshow images are covered too
  • Purely decorative images have empty alt text

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Automated tools, including Valence, find only part of all accessibility barriers and cannot certify conformance with the ADA, WCAG, the European Accessibility Act or any other standard.

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