“Meeting room” tells a visitor little about a photograph of a private consultation space at your law office. “Private meeting room with a table and four chairs” gives someone who cannot see it a clearer picture. That sentence is alt text: text associated with an image that assistive technology can announce and that a browser may display if the image fails to load.
For a small law practice, image descriptions help make service pages, office information, and blog posts usable. Someone planning a visit may need details about an entrance; someone reading an attorney profile may need a name. You do not have to describe every pixel. Describe what the image contributes where it appears.
Start with the image’s job on the page
Before writing alt text, ask why the image is there. A conference-room photograph on an office-access page might help visitors recognize where an appointment will take place. In an article about choosing office space, the same photograph might add nothing the text has not already said.
Most images fall into one of three categories:
- Informative images add details a visitor needs, such as the layout of an entrance, a named attorney’s identity, or the contents of a chart. Describe the relevant information.
- Functional images act as controls or links. Their text should explain the action or destination, not just what the icon looks like.
- Decorative images add atmosphere but no new information. They generally need empty alt text, written as alt="", so a screen reader can skip them.
The category depends on context, not on the image file. A shared-workspace photograph could be informative on a page explaining what clients will see when they arrive. Beside a paragraph that already covers those details, it may be decorative. Ask what a visitor would miss if the image disappeared; if the answer is an important fact, put that fact in the alt text.
Describe what matters, in plain language
Alt text is usually a short phrase or sentence. Name the subject, then add a detail that matters to the page. For someone planning a visit, “Step-free entrance beside the building’s main doors” is more useful than “Modern building exterior.” Check the full route before calling it step-free, though. A photograph may not show a threshold farther along.
Skip “image of” or “photo of” unless the medium matters; assistive technology typically announces that it is an image. Skip keyword strings as well. “Divorce lawyer estate lawyer family attorney downtown” does not describe a picture or help a visitor understand it.
Match the detail to the purpose. On an attorney profile, a portrait might use “Attorney Maya Chen” if the nearby heading does not give her name. If the heading already says “Maya Chen,” the alt text could add a relevant visible detail—or be empty if the portrait contributes nothing necessary beyond the name. Do not infer credentials, personality, or client relationships from a photograph. “Compassionate lawyer advising a satisfied client” makes claims the image cannot support.
Compare these descriptions
| Image and context | Less helpful | More helpful |
|---|---|---|
| Office entrance on a visit-us page | Our beautiful office | Glass entrance to the office beside the reception sign |
| Team photograph introducing staff | Lawyers | Attorneys Maya Chen and Luis Ortega outside the office |
| Calendar icon linking to an appointment form | Calendar icon | Request a consultation |
| Scales-of-justice graphic beside an article title | Scales of justice legal services attorney | Empty alt text if it adds no information |
Even the better wording depends on nearby text. If “Request a consultation” is already the visible label on the same linked button, repeating it for the icon may sound awkward. The icon can have empty alt text; the button label carries the meaning.
Handle charts, screenshots, and text inside images differently
A photograph may need only a few words. A chart comparing office arrangements needs more than an alt attribute can comfortably hold. If it shows monthly costs for rented, shared, virtual, and home offices, put the figures and qualifications in nearby HTML text or a table. Alt text such as “Cost comparison for four small-practice office options” can identify the chart while the page supplies its numbers and assumptions.
For a screenshot, describe the detail the instructions rely on. In a post about checking a client intake form, “Required email field marked with an asterisk” is useful; “Screenshot of website” is not. If the screenshot shows several steps, write them out in the article so visitors need not examine the image to follow along.
If an image contains essential words, such as office hours on a graphic, put those words in ordinary page text too. Visitors can then find, copy, and enlarge them more easily, and your team can update them without leaving conflicting information in a graphic. The alt text can briefly describe the image rather than be the only record of details that might change.
Protect clients and avoid misleading details
A desk or meeting-room photograph can reveal more than intended. Before uploading one, check documents, screens, whiteboards, nameplates, and reflections for client information. Crop or replace a problematic photograph; alt text cannot fix a confidentiality issue.
Be just as careful about whom and what you identify. Do not label a model in a promotional image as a client or imply that a staged handshake records a successful case. For a generic photograph, describe only what is visible—or give it empty alt text if it is purely decorative. Confirm names and locations before publishing photographs of your actual attorneys or office.
Confidentiality, advertising, and professional-conduct rules vary by jurisdiction. Check current applicable law and professional rules when choosing images or making claims about your practice. This general publishing guidance does not replace legal or tax advice from a qualified professional.
Put the description in the right place
Alt text belongs in an image’s alt attribute, which most website editors present as an “Alt text” field. A caption is visible to everyone and can add context, provide attribution when needed, or give an explanation too long for alt text. Filenames help your team manage images, but visitors should not have to rely on them for a description.
For a linked image, describe what the link does. If an office photograph opens a directions page, “Get directions to our office” may be more helpful than a description of the chairs or windows. If the image and adjacent text are part of one link, avoid repetitive labels. An icon-only control, such as a magnifying glass that opens site search, needs an accessible name such as “Search the site.” Depending on how the site is built, the link or button—not the image’s alt field—may provide that name.
Alt text cannot make up for missing page information. Headings and paragraphs still need to explain your services, processes, and office arrangements. If visitors cannot find practical details before they reach an image, review your website navigation for first-time law firm visitors rather than asking alt text to carry the page.
Make a manageable review routine
You do not have to rewrite every media-library entry at once. Start with images on frequently used pages: contact and office information, attorney profiles, service pages, and appointment forms. Review blog images as you update each post. Look at the published page, not just the image’s media-library field.
- Identify the purpose. Is the image informative, functional, or decorative in this location?
- Check surrounding text. Add what a visitor would otherwise miss without repeating a nearby heading or caption.
- Verify factual details. Confirm names, room features, accessibility claims, and numbers shown in graphics.
- Check the published page. Make sure the description is attached to the intended image and linked images or controls have understandable names.
Add a short reminder to the website checklist used by anyone who uploads images, including a virtual assistant or web designer: describe the image’s purpose on this page, use empty alt text for decoration, and do not paste in keywords. When you next publish an office photograph, draft its description alongside the paragraph it accompanies. If the paragraph already tells visitors everything the photograph conveys, use empty alt text rather than “office photo.”
