Free tool
Project caption builder
Describe a finished job and its photos, tick the permission checklist, and the builder drafts a page title, a short summary, a caption and alt text for each photo, and a permission record for your files.
Written by Christopher Lee, last revised
Project caption builder
Works offline in this tab. Nothing is uploaded, and no photos are needed.
Draft captions and record
What the builder does
You enter the type of work, the area if the owners agree, a line on the brief and a line on what you did, your role and a list of photos. The builder writes:
- a page title, with a warning if it runs over 60 characters
- a short summary from the brief and the work, plus your role and any designer credit
- a caption and alt text for each photo
- a permission record listing what you have checked, with the date
It also warns you about gaps: an area entered without the owners' agreement, a missing designer credit, before and after photos that do not pair up, or no permission recorded.
Describing the photos
Write one line per photo saying what it shows: "Kitchen from the dining table, with new island bench". For pairs, start the line with "before:" or "after:". For a design image that is not a photo of finished work, start with "render:", and the caption will say so.
The builder turns each line into a caption and alt text. Alt text gives the type of work and the description, so someone using a screen reader knows what the photo shows. W3C's guidance on non-text content says informative images need a text alternative serving the same purpose, and Google's image guidance asks for alt text that is descriptive and useful rather than stuffed with keywords. Read each draft and improve it; you know the photos.
The permission checklist
A client's home can identify them, which makes photos and descriptions of it personal information under the Privacy Act's principles. The checklist covers the steps that matter: the owners agreed to publication, no house numbers or plates are visible, no people are visible unless they agreed, every photo shows your own work and before and after pairs are fair.
The last two matter under the Fair Trading Act as well. A project page is a claim about your work, and it must not mislead.
The permission record is for your files, not for publishing. Save it with the job's photos.
Limits
The builder works only from what you type; it does not look at photos. Its captions are drafts in a plain style that you should edit. It does not check spelling or facts.
Privacy
Nothing leaves your browser. The builder does not upload photos, store your answers or use cookies.
Why does it leave out the suburb sometimes?
If you enter a suburb but do not tick that the owners agreed, the builder leaves it out of the title and warns you. Showing where someone lives needs their agreement.
Can I use the captions on social media?
Yes, but check the permission covers it. Owners who agreed to a website page may not expect their home on social media.
What makes a good page title?
Short, specific and accurate: the type of work and, with permission, the area. Google describes a good title as unique to the page, clear and concise.
Sources for this page
- WCAG 2.2 Understanding: Non-text Content, W3C WAI. Primary source
- Google's image SEO guidance, Google Search Central. Primary source
- The information privacy principles, Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Primary source
- Consumer guide to the Fair Trading Act, Consumer Protection, MBIE. Primary source
How we choose and label sources is set out in the editorial policy.
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