How to Write Respectful Alt Text for Disability Nonprofit Photos
Alt text is the short description that appears when an image cannot load, and that screen readers read aloud to people who are blind or have low vision. For a disability nonprofit, alt text matters twice over – it makes your website accessible to more people, and it sets the tone for how your organization talks about the adults you serve.
This guide is for nonprofit staff, volunteers, and board members who upload photos to a website or blog. If you are publishing images of adults with disabilities, this is how to describe them with accuracy and dignity.
What Alt Text Is and Why It Matters
Alt text (short for alternative text) is an HTML attribute attached to every image on a web page. It serves three purposes:
- Accessibility. Screen readers use alt text to describe images to users who cannot see them. Without alt text, those users get nothing – or worse, they hear the file name (“IMG_4832.jpg”).
- Context. If an image fails to load due to a slow connection or a broken link, the alt text appears in its place, giving visitors a sense of what was supposed to be there.
- Search visibility. Search engines read alt text to understand what an image shows. Good alt text can help your pages appear in image search results and improve your overall SEO.
For an organization like Lennon’s House, which serves adults and young adults with different abilities, every photo published online is a chance to model respectful, person-first communication – or to undermine it. Alt text is part of that picture.
The Core Principles of Respectful Alt Text
Before getting into specific examples, here are the principles that should guide every piece of alt text you write for a disability nonprofit:
- Describe what the person is doing, not what their diagnosis is. A photo of someone painting should say “A woman paints a sunflower on canvas,” not “A woman with Down syndrome does art therapy.”
- Use the same language you would use in conversation. If you would not walk up to someone and introduce them by their disability, do not do it in alt text.
- Be specific and concrete. “A group of adults” is vague. “Four adults sit at a table sorting colored beads” is useful.
- Keep it concise. Alt text should be one or two sentences. If you need more, use a caption or surrounding paragraph text.
- Skip decorative images. If an image is purely decorative (a background pattern, a divider line), use empty alt text (alt=””) so screen readers skip it entirely.
Examples: Good vs. Poor Alt Text
Here are side-by-side examples to make the difference concrete:
Photo of a man rolling pizza dough in a kitchen.
- Poor: “Special needs man in kitchen”
- Better: “A man rolls pizza dough on a floured counter during a cooking activity”
Photo of two women laughing on a bowling lane.
- Poor: “Disabled women bowling”
- Better: “Two women laugh together at a bowling lane, one holding a blue bowling ball”
Photo of a group arriving at a park.
- Poor: “Group outing for adults with developmental disabilities”
- Better: “A group of adults walks along a paved path at a local park on a sunny afternoon”
Photo of a volunteer and a participant working on a craft project.
- Poor: “Volunteer helps disabled person with crafts”
- Better: “A volunteer and a participant glue fabric pieces onto a picture frame at a craft table”
Notice the pattern: good alt text focuses on the action, the setting, and the details that make the moment specific. It treats the person in the photo as a person, not a category.
When and How to Mention Disability in Alt Text
Sometimes disability is relevant to the image – for example, a photo of someone using a wheelchair, a communication device, or adaptive equipment. In those cases, mention the equipment matter-of-factly, the same way you would mention someone wearing glasses or holding a cane.
- “A man in a wheelchair lines up a bocce ball on an outdoor court”
- “A woman uses a tablet-based communication device to choose a recipe”
What you should avoid is mentioning disability when it is not visible in or relevant to the image. If a photo shows someone smiling at a table, the alt text does not need to include their diagnosis. Describe what you see, not what you know from a file.
Practical Steps for Your Team
Making good alt text a habit takes a little structure. Here is how to build it into your workflow:
- Write alt text when you upload the photo, not later. If you wait, you will forget what the image shows or skip it entirely.
- Create a simple style guide. A half-page document with your principles and three or four examples is enough to keep everyone consistent.
- Audit your existing images. Go through your current website – your Impact page, your blog posts, your Activities page – and update any images that have missing or poor alt text.
- Assign someone to review. Before a blog post goes live, one person should check that every image has alt text and that the language is respectful and specific.
- Test with a screen reader. Even a quick test using the built-in screen reader on your phone (VoiceOver on iPhone, TalkBack on Android) will show you what your alt text sounds like in practice.
Alt Text and Search Visibility
Good alt text also helps your website show up in search results. When someone searches for “community activities for adults with disabilities in Morris County,” images with clear, descriptive alt text have a better chance of appearing in Google Image results – and those results link back to your site.
This does not mean you should stuff keywords into alt text. Write for the person using a screen reader first. If the description naturally includes relevant terms, that is a bonus, not the goal.
If you want to learn more about how Lennon’s House approaches accessibility and inclusion, visit the About page or reach out directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should alt text be?
One to two sentences, or roughly 125 characters or fewer when possible. Screen readers can handle longer alt text, but concise descriptions are easier to listen to and understand.
Should I start alt text with “Image of” or “Photo of”?
No. Screen readers already announce that an element is an image, so starting with “Image of” is redundant. Jump straight into the description.
What if I do not know the person’s name in the photo?
That is fine. Use a general description: “A woman,” “Two participants,” “A group of adults.” You do not need names to write good alt text.
Does every image on our website need alt text?
Every meaningful image needs descriptive alt text. Decorative images (background textures, divider lines) should have empty alt text (alt=””) so screen readers skip them.
Where do I add alt text in WordPress?
When you upload or select an image in the WordPress block editor, there is an “Alt Text” field in the image settings panel on the right side of the screen. Fill it in every time.