What is Alt text in email?
Alt text in email is a short written description attached to an image, shown when the image is blocked or fails to load and read aloud by screen readers.
Many email apps block images by default, and some readers have images off to save data. Without alt text they see an empty box, and a screen reader user hears nothing or a file name. Good alt text keeps the message understandable in both cases.
Describe what matters, in plain words. A product photo might say what the item is and its colour. A banner that contains the offer should repeat the offer in text. Decorative images, such as a divider line, should have empty alt text so they are skipped.
Alt text also helps when a key message is hidden inside a graphic. Where possible, keep important words as live text and use images to support them.
A worked example.
A hypothetical bakery sends a banner image that reads 'Free delivery on orders over a set amount this weekend'. The original alt text is 'banner1.jpg'. The team rewrites it to repeat the offer, and now readers with images blocked still see what the email is about.
Common mistakes.
- Leaving file names such as banner1.jpg as the alt text
- Putting the whole offer inside an image with no text fallback
- Writing long descriptions for purely decorative images
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