Alternative text, commonly known as “alt text,” is essential for creating accessible websites that serve all users, especially those who rely on screen readers. While adding alt text in WordPress is straightforward, writing it effectively requires understanding its purpose and following established best practices. This guide covers everything you need to know about creating meaningful alt text, including when to leave it blank and how to avoid common pitfalls.

Understanding Alt Text and Its Purpose

Alt text is a concise description of an image’s content and function that appears in your website’s HTML code. It serves three critical purposes:

Accessibility: Screen readers announce alt text to users who are blind or visually impaired, helping them understand visual content and navigate your site effectively.

Fallback content: When images fail to load due to slow connections or technical issues, alt text displays in place of the image, ensuring users still receive important information.

Context enhancement: Alt text provides meaning and context for images, particularly when the visual content’s purpose isn’t immediately clear from the surrounding text.

Properly implemented alt text makes your content inclusive and ensures compliance with accessibility standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and Section 508.

Writing Effective Alt Text

Creating meaningful alt text requires balancing accuracy, brevity, and relevance. Follow these core principles:

Focus on Purpose and Context

Describe what the image contributes to your content, not just what it depicts. Consider why you included the image and what information it conveys to your audience.

  • Effective example: VA nurse explaining discharge instructions to a veteran and family member
  • Ineffective example: Three people talking

The effective example provides context about the setting, roles, and activity, while the ineffective version lacks meaningful detail.

Keep Descriptions Concise

Limit alt text to approximately 125 characters. Screen readers may truncate longer descriptions, and users benefit from quick, digestible information that doesn’t interrupt their browsing flow.

Avoid Redundant Phrases

Skip phrases like “image of,” “picture of,” or “graphic showing” since screen readers already announce that the element is an image.

  • Instead of: Image of veterans attending a job fair
  • Use: Veterans attending a job fair

Match Your Content’s Tone

Alt text should align with your content’s voice and purpose. For professional healthcare content, use clear, respectful language. You can adopt a more conversational tone for casual blog posts while remaining informative.

When to Leave Alt Text Empty

Strategic use of empty alt text (alt=””) improves the user experience by preventing screen readers from announcing irrelevant visual elements.

Decorative Images

Images used purely for visual appeal—such as decorative borders, background patterns, or design flourishes—should have empty alt attributes. This allows screen readers to skip these elements and focus on meaningful content.

In WordPress, leave the “Alternative Text” field blank for decorative images. Don’t enter “decorative” or describe the visual style; this defeats the purpose.

Redundant Icons

When icons accompany text conveying the same information (like a phone icon next to a phone number), use empty alt text to avoid repetitive announcements.

Images Fully Described by Adjacent Text

If a caption or surrounding paragraph completely describes an image’s content and purpose, you may use empty alt text to prevent redundancy. However, ensure the adjacent text truly provides all necessary context.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t Use Alt Text for SEO Manipulation

Alt text exists for accessibility, not search engine optimization. While search engines do index alt text, stuffing it with keywords provides no value to users and violates accessibility principles.

  • Poor approach: VA hospital veterans care nurse doctor healthcare patient medical treatment
  • Better approach: Veteran receiving physical therapy treatment at VA medical center

Search engines favor meaningful, contextual content that serves users, which accessibility-focused alt text naturally provides.

Avoid Non-Descriptive Text

Never use file names, generic placeholders, or technical jargon as alt text. Transform “IMG_2392.jpg” into human-readable descriptions that convey actual meaning.

Don’t Duplicate Existing Content

Avoid repeating identical information in the alt text when images appear alongside captions or detailed descriptions. Instead, provide complementary details or use empty alt text if the surrounding content is comprehensive.

Implementation Guidelines

For Content Teams

  • Establish standards: Create style guidelines that specify your organization’s alt text conventions, including tone, length limits, and approval processes.
  • Provide training: Ensure all team members who handle media understand alt text principles and can distinguish between decorative and informative images.
  • Create review processes: Build alt text evaluation into your content review workflow to catch missing or poorly written descriptions before publication.

For Ongoing Maintenance

  • Conduct regular audits. Use accessibility plugins or manual reviews to identify images on your site that lack proper alt text.
  • Monitor user feedback: Pay attention to accessibility-related comments or suggestions from users who rely on assistive technologies.
  • Stay updated: Accessibility standards evolve, so periodically review your practices against current WCAG guidelines and industry best practices.

WordPress-Specific Tips

WordPress provides two distinct places to add alt text; understanding the difference is crucial for effective implementation.

Media Library Alt Text vs. Post-Level Alt Text

Media Library Alt Text: This is the default alt text assigned when uploading an image. It appears in the Media Library settings and serves as the baseline description used whenever the image is inserted into content, unless overridden.

Post-Level Alt Text: This appears in the block editor (Gutenberg) when you insert an image into a specific post or page. This field allows you to customize the alt text for that particular image use.

When to Use Post-Level Alt Text

The post-level alt text field should be used when the same image serves different purposes across your site:

Context-Specific Descriptions: If you use a photo of a VA medical facility in both a “Services” page and a “Locations” page, the alt text should reflect different contexts:

  • Services page: VA medical center providing comprehensive healthcare services
  • Locations page: VA medical center located in downtown Springfield

Audience-Specific Content: The same image of a veteran receiving benefits counseling might need different alt text for different audiences:

  • For veterans: Veteran meeting with benefits counselor to discuss disability compensation
  • For families: Family member learning about survivor benefits at VA office

Content Integration: When an image’s role changes based on surrounding content, adjust the alt text accordingly. A photo of medical equipment might be described as Advanced MRI machine for diagnostic imaging in a technology article, but MRI scanner used for veteran health screenings in a patient services context.

Best Practices for WordPress Alt Text Management

  • Establish a workflow: Always add meaningful alt text in the Media Library as your baseline, then customize at the post level when the context requires it.
  • Use descriptive file names: Before uploading, rename files with descriptive names that can serve as reminders for appropriate alt text (though never use the filename as actual alt text).
  • Document recurring images: To ensure consistency for images used across multiple posts or pages, maintain a reference document with context-appropriate alt text variations.
  • Leverage the block editor: The WordPress block editor makes it easy to see and edit alt text for each image placement. Use this feature to ensure each use of an image serves its specific content purpose.

Remember that effective alt text serves as content, not metadata. Treat it with the same care and attention you give to headlines, body text, and other essential elements of your digital content strategy.

Conclusion

Writing effective alt text is both an accessibility requirement and an opportunity to enhance your content’s inclusivity and usability. By focusing on purpose, maintaining conciseness, and understanding when to use empty alt attributes, you create better user experiences while supporting your organization’s commitment to digital accessibility.

Effective alt text isn’t just about compliance — it’s about ensuring every visitor can fully engage with your content, regardless of how they access your website.