Audit tool / Guides

How to Add Alt Text to Shopify Product Images (One by One and in Bulk)

By Evan Walter · Updated 2026-11-11

Alt text is the short written description attached to an image. Screen readers read it aloud, browsers show it when an image fails to load, and Google uses it to understand what an image shows, which matters for Google Images and for product search. On Shopify, alt text belongs to each product image, so a store with 200 products and 5 photos each has 1,000 places where it can be missing.

Find which products are missing it

Run the free catalog audit. It checks the images on up to 40 products, reports what share are missing alt text, and lists the products affected. If the sample shows gaps, the rest of the catalog usually needs the same fix, and the CSV export below shows every image at once.

Option 1: Add alt text in the Shopify admin

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Products and open a product.
2. In the Media section, click an image to open the media preview.
3. Click Add alt text (or Edit alt text), type a description, and save.

This is fine for a handful of products. Past 20 or so, use the CSV method.

Option 2: Bulk edit with a product CSV

1. Go to Products → Export and export the products you want (all, or a filtered set) as a CSV for Excel or Google Sheets.
2. Open the file. Each image is its own row, with the image URL in Image Src and the alt text in Image Alt Text. Rows for the same product share the same Handle.
3. Fill in Image Alt Text for each image row. Don't change Handle or Image Src.
4. Go to Products → Import, upload the file, and check Overwrite products with matching handles.

Before you import: keep an untouched copy of the export as a backup, and test with a file of two or three products first. Overwriting re-applies every column in the file, so edit only the alt text column.

How to write good product alt text

• Describe what the image actually shows: "Navy wool beanie, folded cuff, front view", not "beanie" and not "best cheap beanie buy now".
• Make each image on a product different: front, side, detail, lifestyle shot.
• Keep it under about 125 characters. Screen readers read the whole thing.
• Skip "image of" or "picture of". Screen readers already announce it as an image.
• Don't keyword-stuff. Write naturally, and the product name and key attributes (color, material) usually cover the search terms.

Products with no images at all

The audit also flags products with zero images. These rarely sell and can look like thin pages to Google. Either add photos or set the product to draft until you have them.