How do I add alternative text to Squarespace images?

Definition: Alternative text, or alt text, is a written description of an image that screen readers read aloud and browsers display when the image fails to load. Squarespace image blocks use an Image alt text field; gallery sections use the image's Description field.

Key facts

• As of 17 October 2026, Squarespace's SEO checklist recommends alt text for accessibility and to help search engines identify page content.
• Squarespace's image blocks guide places Image alt text in the Content tab.
• The gallery sections guide uses Description for both captions and alt text.

Where is the field for an image block?

Squarespace's alt text instructions give this editing sequence:

1. In Pages, selecting the page containing the image block and clicking Edit opens the page editor.
2. Selecting the image block and clicking its pencil icon opens the block editor.
3. The Content tab contains Image alt text.
4. Text entered in Image alt text saves automatically.

The image blocks documentation treats visible text separately. In Fluid Engine, text blocks place text beside or over an image. In the classic editor, image blocks have caption fields, sometimes showing the placeholder Add an image description. The same documentation directs authors to enter alternative text in Image alt text.

Which field do galleries and product images use?

For a gallery section, Squarespace's gallery instructions describe opening the page editor and choosing Edit Gallery. Selecting an image opens its sidebar; text entered under Description supplies its caption and alt text. Gallery sections are available in version 7.1.

Squarespace's alt text reference gives a different rule for gallery blocks: the image title supplies alt text, with the description used when the title is absent.

For product images, the same reference documents Pages, the store page, then a category or All. Hovering over a product image opens the ... menu. Edit metadata contains Alt text; Apply, then Save, completes the change. The field accepts up to 200 characters, and the product name supplies alt text when the field is empty.

What should the description say?

Google's image SEO documentation recommends useful descriptions that fit the page context and use keywords appropriately. Keyword stuffing means filling the attribute with keywords; Google warns that this creates a negative user experience and can make a site appear spammy.

Google supplies this example of a descriptive HTML image element:

<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="Dalmatian puppy playing fetch"/>

This shows the HTML attribute that carries the description. In Squarespace, the editor fields above supply the text. Google's documentation also explains that alt text can serve as anchor text when an image is a link.

Related terms

• Image alternative text
• ARIA and the accessibility tree
• Where do I edit Squarespace page SEO descriptions?

FAQ

Can I use the file name instead?

Squarespace's alt text guide says file names act as alt text in many areas when other text is absent. Image blocks and auto layouts require their own alt text entries.

How can I find missing descriptions?

Squarespace's SEO checklist recommends the SEO Report tool to find missing alt text and review or edit suggestions. You can use this feature on version 7.1 sites.

Can I add alt text to section backgrounds?

The same Squarespace alt text guide lists section background images among images that do not support alt text. It explains that decorative backgrounds generally require no description.

Sources

1. Squarespace, "SEO checklist", 14 July 2026
2. Squarespace, "Add alt text to images for accessibility and SEO", 1 October 2026
3. Squarespace, "Image blocks", 29 July 2026
4. Squarespace, "Gallery sections", 5 May 2026
5. Google Search Central, "Google image SEO best practices", 2 March 2026

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