Image Alt Text Audit
Audit missing and present alt attributes, distinguish informative from decorative images, and write useful alternatives in context.
Use Missing Alt to find image uses without meaningful alt data and Has Alt to inspect the comparison set. The presence of text does not prove quality, and an empty value can be the correct accessible treatment for a decorative image.
Decide what the image communicates
- Informative image: describe the information needed to understand the page.
- Decorative image: use
alt=""so assistive technology can ignore it. - Functional or linked image: describe the action or destination.
- Complex image: provide a concise alternative plus nearby detailed explanation.
- Text in an image: include the meaningful text when it is not already available nearby.
<img src="team.jpg" alt="Screpy support team working together" />
<img src="divider.svg" alt="" />
<a href="/cart"><img src="cart.svg" alt="Open shopping cart" /></a>Analyze findings in context
- Open every relevant Source Page, not only the image file.
- Determine whether nearby text already communicates the same meaning.
- Check repeated uses; one asset can require different alternatives.
- Group missing values by CMS field and component.
- Review linked images together with the destination.
- Check whether CSS backgrounds represent meaningful content that should use an HTML image instead.
Google uses alt text, computer vision, and page context to understand images. It recommends useful, contextual wording and warns against keyword stuffing. Alt text primarily serves people who cannot see the image; do not force target phrases that do not describe it.
Example decision
A product card uses the product image as the only link to the detail page and has no alt text. Add the product's concise name as the functional alternative. A decorative wave in the same card should keep an empty alt value rather than repeat the product name.
Verify the fix
Inspect rendered markup, navigate with images disabled or a screen reader, test linked-image names, and recrawl. Confirm Missing Alt decreases for informative uses without turning decorative images into noisy announcements.
Anchor Text
Understand how image alternatives label linked destinations.
Responsive Images
Deliver the same meaningful image appropriately across devices.
Google Image Guidance
Review official discovery, context, filename, and alt-text recommendations.
Write alternative text from the page context
Alternative text describes the image's purpose in a specific context. The same photograph might need a product name on a product page, a concise description in an article, or empty alt text when it is purely decorative. There is no universal description stored for the file.
Ask what information a sighted reader receives from the image and whether nearby text already provides it. Avoid prefixes such as “image of” unless the medium itself matters. Do not turn alt text into a list of search keywords.
Common image types
| Image purpose | Appropriate approach |
|---|---|
| Informative photo or diagram | Describe the relevant information concisely |
| Functional image link or button | Describe the action or destination |
| Decorative flourish | Use an empty alt value |
| Image containing essential text | Include the meaningful text, and prefer real HTML text when possible |
| Complex chart | Provide a short alt plus a nearby detailed explanation |
An empty alt attribute is different from a missing attribute. Empty alt intentionally tells assistive technology to skip a decorative image.
What to expect after changes
When missing attributes are added, Missing Alt should fall and Has Alt should rise. If Missing Alt drops because images were removed, confirm that the page did not lose useful information. If a CMS adds the filename automatically, the filter may improve while accessibility does not; review a sample of the actual values.
For a shared logo, card component, or icon, fix the component and then crawl every relevant template state. The W3C alt decision tree provides a practical classification flow, while Google's image best practices explain how descriptive context supports image understanding.
Frequently asked questions
How long should alt text be?
There is no SEO character target. Use the shortest wording that communicates the image's relevant purpose. Complex charts usually need a nearby detailed explanation rather than an extremely long alt value.
Should product images repeat the product name?
Describe what distinguishes the specific image, such as the view, color, or feature, when that information helps. Repeating the same keyword-heavy phrase on every gallery image provides little value.
Return to the Images overview to compare alt-text findings with image status, dimensions, responsiveness, and source type.