Email image alt text that still works when the image does not load

Start with the reason the image is in the email. W3C/WAI separates informative, functional, decorative, and text-bearing images because the replacement text changes with the image's purpose. That decision matters more than a character target.

The surrounding copy matters too. If the product name and offer are already written beside a product photo, the alt text can describe the visible variant or angle. If an image is the only link to a sale page, its alt text needs to name the destination or action.

For a product photo, editorial image, or screenshot, I upload the image to AltCaption and generate a plain description. That gets the visible subject, color, setting, and other concrete details into a draft without asking the model to invent the campaign message.

Then I compare the draft with the email. I remove details already stated in the nearby copy, correct product names and variants, and add the image's purpose when the pixels alone do not explain it. AltCaption cannot know where a linked image goes or which sentence the recipient has already read.

A product photo usually needs the item and the useful visible detail. A hero graphic made from a product photo plus a discount headline carries two jobs: showing the item and communicating the offer.

Keep the offer in live email copy instead of relying on the graphic. The image alt text can identify the product or visual, while the normal heading and link text preserve the price, date, or discount when images are unavailable. This also avoids making the alt attribute repeat a whole promotional panel.

When an image is the only content inside a link, W3C/WAI recommends text that describes the link's function rather than its appearance. A shopping-bag icon linked to a collection needs an action such as "Shop the linen collection," not "White shopping bag icon."

A normal text button is easier to understand and test than a button drawn into an image. When the design still uses an image-only link, verify the exact destination before writing the alt text. Do not promise "Buy now" when the link only opens a product overview.

Email builders usually expose an alt-text field for an image block. Mailchimp, for example, documents an Alt field in its current and legacy builders. In a custom template, put the text in the image element's alt attribute and escape quotation marks before pasting it.

In a custom template, set a meaningful image's alt attribute to the approved text. Use an empty value for a decorative image. The examples below show both forms. Do not omit the attribute and hope the email client will make the right choice.

Builder behavior and email-client rendering vary. Mailchimp notes that some clients may not display alt text for a linked image or may clip text wider than the image. Keep the draft concise, then test the actual campaign instead of judging the source field alone.

Send a test message from the same builder and template that will send the campaign. Open it with images disabled and follow the reading order from the subject line through the final link. The email should still identify the offer, product, or next action without depending on a picture.

Then check the message with the accessibility tools and assistive technology your team normally uses. Fix repeated text, unexplained image links, missing offer details, and decorative file names before scheduling the send.