Editorial review: 9 October 2026. Updated guidance; the original publication date is retained.
Images should help a visitor understand a service, product or result. Hiding promotional wording inside artwork so that a search engine might overlook it is not a sound design objective.
Keep important messages readable
Where practical, put prices, offers and instructions in real page text. It can be resized and adapted more easily than text baked into an image. When an image of text is necessary, provide an equivalent text alternative. W3C explains the accessibility trade-offs.
Choose an image that proves or explains something
A screenshot can show how a product works. A diagram can explain an integration. A photograph can establish the setting of a project. Generic artwork may support a visual identity, but it should not be presented as evidence of a real deployment or customer outcome.
Describe the useful information
Give informative images context-appropriate alt text; decorative images can use an empty alternative. Avoid filling alternatives with unrelated search phrases. Keep the surrounding text relevant and use responsive image sizes so a small display does not need an unnecessarily large file. See Google’s image guidance.
Review the finished page
Check the mobile crop, text contrast, loading behaviour and whether the image repeats information without helping the reader. For a product screenshot, inspect whether interface labels remain legible at the delivered size. For a client logo, preserve transparency and provide a useful link name if it is clickable.
Our web design service considers imagery as part of the complete reading and enquiry journey.