An audit flags an image without alt text. Filling the field with landing page screenshot clears a task, but it may still leave the reader without the information the image communicates.
Start with the image's job in this specific section. A product screenshot, a decorative shape, and an image-only link need different treatment. Fix the meaning people would otherwise miss rather than trying to make every image description equally long.
- Find
- The information or action carried only by the image.
- Fix
- Describe its purpose, or mark decoration with empty alt.
- Verify
- Read the section without relying on the image.
Start with these checks
Classify the image
Decide whether it informs, performs an action, or only decorates.
Read nearby copy
Check which details are already supplied and which would be lost.
Inspect the published markup
Confirm the intended alternative reaches the actual image, including linked images.
Ask what would be missing if the image vanished
For an informative image, write the useful information in the context of the section. A workflow screenshot might show that overdue tasks are grouped by owner. Describing its blue sidebar would miss the reason it is there.
W3C's image decision tree distinguishes informative, functional, and decorative uses. A purely decorative image can use alt="". An absent alt attribute is different from an intentional empty alternative; do not treat every empty value as a defect.
Write for the image's role on this page
For a screenshot, capture the point the surrounding copy asks readers to notice. For an image that is the only content inside a link, describe the destination or action rather than its appearance. A linked logo may need to identify the home destination; a logo beside equivalent link text may add nothing useful.
Keep the alternative concise. If a chart or diagram carries substantial information, provide the detail in nearby text and use the image alternative to identify it. Do not squeeze an entire feature explanation or a string of search keywords into the attribute.
Illustrative task-board screenshot
Before
The screenshot has no alternative, so its evidence is available only visually.
Suggested change
Overdue tasks grouped by owner, with each task's due date visible.
Original worked example. This wording is appropriate only if those are the screenshot's actual content and purpose.
<img src="/task-board.webp"
alt="Overdue tasks grouped by owner, with each task’s due date visible.">
<!-- A purely decorative shape: -->
<img src="/corner-shape.svg" alt="">Read the section as a sequence, including links
Inspect the rendered image after publishing. Check the actual output rather than assuming the asset library's description is used in every component.
Listen to the section with a screen reader. Check that a linked image communicates where it leads, useful information is present, and decorative images do not add repetitive noise. Read the surrounding caption too: repeated wording may be unnecessary if it contributes no additional meaning.
Recheck the original finding, then review whether the alternative conveys the right information. A present attribute is not proof of a useful description or whole-page accessibility.
Turn the diagnosis into a change
Take the next step
Review images on [page URL] in their page context. Classify each flagged image as informative, functional, or decorative. Write concise, accurate alternatives for meaningful images; use empty alt for pure decoration. Give image-only links an appropriate destination or action name. Preserve images and destinations. Verify rendered markup and reading order, and flag complex visuals that need an adjacent text explanation.
Use these instructions with your developer or coding assistant.
Questions before you change it
Does every image need a written description?
No. Pure decoration can use empty alt text. The decision depends on what the image contributes in its current context.
Should alt text include my target keyword?
Only if it belongs naturally in an accurate description. Do not replace useful information with a list of keywords.
Can I reuse the same alt text wherever an image appears?
Sometimes, but check the context. The same image can illustrate information in one section and act as a navigation link in another.
Make the next fix about your page.
Paste one public page to get a free audit preview. See the priorities, then decide whether to unlock the full report and implementation brief.