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🖼 Images

Images in Swift Axis can be a story's featured image, a picture inside the story, a Brief's image or a writer's picture, and you can upload your own or search free image sources. This page will guide you through uploading, searching free images, how credit is handled and writing good alt text.

Uploading your own image​

Wherever you see an image area, such as "Image" in a story's settings panel, you have these options:

  • Click or drag: click the box that reads "Click or drag an image here", or drop a file onto it. Files can be JPG, PNG, GIF or WebP, up to 10 MB.
  • Paste an address: once an image is set, a box reading "Or paste an image URL..." lets you change it to another web address.
  • Replace or Remove: hover over the image to see both buttons.

Uploaded images are stored with the site. Images you add inside a story body, by drop or paste, are uploaded the same way.

When an image is uploaded, the site turns it the right way up, removes its hidden details (such as the camera and the place a photo was taken) and makes smaller copies, so readers on phones download less. Very large images, over 40 megapixels, are refused.

Searching free images​

Press "Search free images" under the image area. A window headed "Search free images" opens.

  • Pick a source from the tabs across the top. The sources are among Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay and Openverse, depending on which your site has switched on. If none are on, the window says "No free image sources are enabled."
  • Type your search into "Search free images…" and press "Search". Use "Load more" for further results.
  • Choose a picture to see a larger preview with its credit and licence.
  • Press "Use image" to add it, or "Back" to return to the results.

The footer reminds you that images come from free sources and that credit is saved with the post and shown on the site.

How credit works​

  • Unsplash images are hotlinked. Unsplash requires its photos to be shown straight from Unsplash with the photographer credited, so the site always shows the Unsplash original. Swift Axis also keeps a backup copy of each newly added Unsplash photo, which readers see only if the original stops loading.
  • Images from other sources are copied into the site's uploads, so the story does not depend on someone else's website.
  • Credit stays with the image. Under a stock image you will see a line such as "Photo: Name · Unsplash". The credit is shown on the site, so leave it in place.

Writing alt text​

Alt text is read out to people who cannot see the image. Describe what it shows rather than saying it is a photo, and keep it short.

  • Featured image: use the "Alt text" field beneath the image, up to 1,000 characters.
  • Image in the body: the caption field under the image is its alt text. It is labelled "Alt text".

This ensures readers using a screen reader get the same information as everyone else.

The home page and cards​

Turn on "Feature on the home page" in the "Image" section to feature a story. The "Card preview" shows how the story card will look on the site. If a story has no image, shared links use the default share image from "Settings".

Best Practices​

  • Prefer your own images when you can: they are stored with the site and need no credit line.
  • Check the preview before you press "Use image", since results are chosen by a search term.
  • Keep files modest: the 10 MB limit is a ceiling, not a target.