Images without alt text: how to write it
In your audit this appears as Pages containing images with no alt attribute
There are images on the page with no alt attribute. That attribute is the text describing the image for anyone who cannot see it.
Why it matters
First is accessibility, and it is the serious reason: a blind person using a screen reader knows your images only through that text. Without it, the reader announces "image" and moves on — or worse, reads out the file name: "IMG_20240714.jpg".
Second is SEO: a search engine does not "see" the photo either. The alt is what tells it what is shown, and what lets it appear in image search. It is also what gets read if the image fails to load.
How to write a good one
<img src="/img/IMG_20240714.jpg"><img src="/img/IMG_20240714.jpg"
alt="Blue running shoe seen from the side">Describe what is there, in one short phrase. No "image of", and no list of keywords.
- Describe what is there, naturally and briefly: "Blue running shoe seen from the side".
- Do not start with "image of": the screen reader already says it is an image.
- No keyword stuffing. An
altpacked with loose terms is unpleasant to listen to and fools nobody. - If the image is a link or a button, describe where it leads, not what the icon looks like.
If the image is purely decorative — a rule, a background, an ornament — the correct thing is alt="": empty but present. That way the screen reader skips it cleanly instead of describing something that adds nothing.
Where to start
You do not have to do them all. Start with the ones carrying information: product photos, charts, screenshots, images inside articles. Decorative icons are handled with alt="" and done.
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