Images can explain products, processes and ideas more quickly than text alone. They also influence performance, accessibility and search visibility, so their value depends on how deliberately they are selected and implemented.
Choose images with a communication purpose
Use visuals that add information or emotional context. Decorative images should not compete with the primary message, and important meaning should never exist only inside an image.
Write useful alternatives
Alternative text should describe the image’s function in context. Decorative images can use an empty alternative so assistive technology can skip them.
Protect performance
Serve suitable dimensions and formats, provide responsive sources and reserve image space to prevent layout shifts. Lazy-load content below the fold without delaying the primary visual unnecessarily.
Help search systems understand context
Use descriptive filenames where practical and place images near relevant headings and copy. Structured data and image sitemaps may support discovery for appropriate content.
Effective images improve understanding without making the page slower or less accessible. Communication, not decoration alone, should guide the decision.
