Alternative texts describe product images in your Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) online storefront for search engines and allow you to improve accessibility for visually impaired users. By default, a product name serves as alt text for all images in the product gallery.

You can add custom alt texts to help your online catalog get a better search ranking, make it easier for shoppers to decide on a purchase, and facilitate finding your products via images online. You can also display custom image alt texts as visible descriptions on product pages in your store.

Managing custom alt text visibility on your eCom storefront

By default, all alt texts are visible to screen readers and search engines, and they only appear in your eCom storefront if an image fails to load.

On top of that, you can display custom alt texts you set for product and product variant images on product pages in your online catalog, at the bottom of each gallery picture. This is especially useful if you sell apparel and want customers to read key details like size, fit, or material right away.

Short, visible image descriptions help customers relate and choose the right option while viewing the product’s gallery. For example, you can specify size or fit when selling apparel and add human model details such as height, measurements, or name to keep shoppers informed:

Example alt text: “Kayla is 5 '11'' and wears a size 6”

To manage custom alt text visibility on your eCom storefront:

1. In Retail POS, navigate to Online > Webstore (or Website) and click Edit Site.
2. In the Page dropdown at the top, select Product > Product Details.
3. Click Image gallery and switch the toggle next to Show image alt text as a description.
4. Publish the changes.

If you're not using the Lightspeed eCom sitebuilder (Instant Site), go to Online > Webstore (or Website) > Design > Product gallery and tick or untick the Show product image alt text as a description box to manage custom alt text visibility on your eCom storefront.

Only the custom alt texts that you manually set for your products and product variants will be displayed as descriptions on product images in your storefront. Default alt texts that correspond to product names will not appear in the gallery.

Adding custom alt texts to product images in eCom

By default, a product name is used as alt text for all product images in the eCom gallery. You can provide custom alt texts (no longer than 125 symbols) for each image instead.

To add alt text to a product image:

1. Navigate to your eCom Admin Panel.
2. From the side menu, click Catalog > Products and select the product you want to edit.
3. Hover over the image.

4. Click Actions > Edit alt text:

   

5. Enter your alt text. For example, “Full-length dark-haired girl wearing a long blue denim skirt and a white top.”
6. (optional) Enter alt texts for other product images.
7. Click Save.

That’s it. You’ve added custom alt text to a product image.

Similarly, you can add individual alt texts to product variant images.

Adding custom alt texts to product variant images in eCom

By default, product variant image alt text matches the main image's alt text if a variant image mirrors the main product image. You can provide custom alt texts (no longer than 125 symbols) for each image your product variants have. For example, if variants feature different colors and sizes.

To add alt text to a product variant image:

1. Navigate to your eCom Admin Panel.
2. From the side menu, click Catalog > Products and select the product you want to edit.
3. Go to the Options > Variations tab.
4. Find the variant you want to add alt text for, then click Manage.
5. Hover over the variant image.

6. Click Actions > Edit alt text:

   

7. Enter your alt text. For example, “Full-length dark-haired girl wearing an S-sized long blue denim skirt and a white top.”
8. Click Save, then OK.
9. (optional) Enter alt texts for other product variant images.

That’s it. You’ve added custom alt text to a product variant image.