Last month, I sat down with a café owner in Taunton who'd just been told her website wasn't compliant with accessibility laws. She'd never heard of alt text before, and honestly, why would she have? She makes brilliant coffee, not websites. But here's the thing — her DIY website builder hadn't mentioned it either, and now she was facing potential legal issues.

I've been building websites for Somerset businesses since the 1980s, and I can tell you that website alt text isn't just some technical nonsense. It's about making sure everyone can use your website, whether they're blind, partially sighted, or just have a dodgy internet connection out in rural Exmoor.

What Exactly Is Alt Text?

Alt text (short for alternative text) is the description you add to images on your website. Think of it as a caption that computers can read. When someone using a screen reader visits your site, the software reads out these descriptions so they know what's in your photos.

Here's a simple example. You've got a photo of your shop front. Without alt text, a blind customer hears "image". Not very helpful, is it? With proper alt text, they'd hear "The Copper Kettle café on East Street, Taunton, with outdoor seating and hanging flower baskets". Now they can picture your business.

Quick tip: Good alt text describes what's in the image as if you're explaining it to someone on the phone. Keep it natural and conversational.

I've seen businesses use alt text like "image1.jpg" or worse, stuff it with keywords like "best plumber Taunton cheap plumber Somerset plumber near me". That's not helping anyone, and Google's wise to that trick these days.

Why Your Somerset Business Can't Ignore This

About six months ago, I helped a B&B owner in Minehead who'd received a complaint about her website's accessibility. She thought it was nonsense at first — "It's just a few room photos," she said. But here's what she hadn't considered:

After we fixed her alt text (and a few other issues), she actually got a booking from a partially sighted guest who mentioned how refreshing it was to find an accessible B&B website. That's real money from real customers you're missing out on.

UK Accessibility Facts

1 in 5 people in the UK have a disability. The purple pound (spending power of disabled people) is worth £274 billion per year to the UK economy.

The SEO Benefits Nobody Talks About

Here's something interesting — Google can't "see" your images. It relies on alt text to understand what's in them. A plumber in Bridgwater I work with saw his local search rankings improve after we added proper alt text to all his job photos. Instead of just "bathroom.jpg", we used descriptions like "newly fitted bathroom with white suite and chrome taps in Bridgwater home".

Google Images drives more traffic than most people realise. A couple of weeks ago, a holiday cottage owner near Dunster told me she'd been getting enquiries from people who found her property through image search. They'd searched for "dog-friendly cottage Exmoor" and found her photos — but only because we'd included that information in the alt text.

What Google Actually Wants

I check Google Search Console for all my clients, and I can tell you that Google rewards websites that help all users. They're not being charitable — they want their search results to work for everyone. Proper alt text is part of that.

But don't go mad with it. I've seen people write paragraphs of alt text thinking more is better. Keep it under 125 characters where possible. If someone's listening to a screen reader, they don't want War and Peace for every image.

How to Write Alt Text That Actually Works

After 40 years of building websites, I've developed a simple approach that works for Somerset businesses:

  1. Be specific but concise — "Red fishing boat in Watchet harbour" beats "boat"
  2. Include your location when relevant — "The Crown Inn beer garden, Williton" helps with local SEO
  3. Skip "image of" or "picture of" — screen readers already announce it's an image
  4. Think context — what does the user need to know about this image?

For decorative images (like background patterns), use empty alt text (alt=""). This tells screen readers to skip them entirely. No point announcing "decorative swirl" fifty times on a page.

Real example: For a Taunton restaurant's Sunday roast photo, instead of "food", try "Traditional Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding and seasonal vegetables, £12.95"

Common Alt Text Mistakes I See Every Week

I visit businesses across Somerset, and these same mistakes crop up everywhere:

The Keyword Stuffer

A shop owner in Street thought they were being clever: "affordable gifts Somerset gifts Glastonbury gifts birthday gifts Christmas gifts". That's not alt text, that's spam. Google knows the difference, and screen reader users will think you're taking the mickey.

The Empty Alt Tag Brigade

DIY website builders often add images without any alt text at all. Earlier this year, I audited a Taunton solicitor's website — 47 images, zero alt text. That's 47 missed opportunities to help visitors and improve SEO.

The Over-Describer

You don't need to describe every pixel. "A woman with brown hair wearing a blue jumper sitting at a wooden desk with a silver laptop and a white coffee mug with steam rising" is too much. "Customer service representative at desk" does the job.

Getting Started Today

Right, let's get practical. If you're reading this thinking "bloody hell, I need to sort this out", here's what to do:

First, check your current images. If you're using WordPress, install Yoast SEO — it'll flag missing alt text. For other platforms, you'll need to check manually. Look for an "alt text" or "alternative text" field when you click on an image in your editor.

Start with your most important images:

Don't feel you need to fix everything overnight. I tell my customers to tackle 5-10 images each time they update their website. Within a few months, you'll have it sorted.

Warning: If your website builder doesn't let you add alt text, that's a red flag. Every decent platform in 2024 should support this basic feature.

The Bottom Line for Somerset Businesses

I've been banging on about website accessibility for years, and alt text is the easiest place to start. It costs nothing except a bit of time, helps real people access your business, and gives you an SEO boost. What's not to like?

Last week, I helped a craft shop in Dulverton add alt text to their product images. The owner rang me yesterday — she'd already had an online order from someone who mentioned they were visually impaired and grateful to finally "see" what they were buying through the descriptions.

That's what this is really about. Not ticking boxes or pleasing Google, but making sure everyone in Somerset and beyond can use your website. Because every customer matters, whether they're using their eyes, their ears, or a screen reader.

If you're struggling with this or any other website issue, give me a shout. I'll drive out to see you — whether you're in Taunton, Bridgwater, or anywhere across the South West. We'll sort it out over a proper cup of tea, and I'll make sure you understand exactly what needs doing and why.

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