EAA 2025 Alt Text Readiness Checklist for Images

The most basic rule — and the most violated. Every <img> tag on your page must have an alt attribute. If the attribute is missing entirely, screen readers may read the filename aloud, creating a confusing and frustrating experience.

<!-- Pass: alt attribute is present -->
<img src="hero-image.jpg" alt="Woman using a laptop in a modern coffee shop">

<!-- Pass: empty alt tells screen readers to skip -->
<img src="decorative-border.svg" alt="">

<!-- Fail: no alt attribute at all -->
<img src="product-image.jpg">

Self-check: Run our free scanner — it lists every img tag missing the alt attribute.

If an image conveys information that is not available elsewhere in the text, its alt text must describe that information. Product photos, charts, diagrams, infographics, and photos of people all fall into this category. The alt text should be concise but adequate — aim for under 125 characters to stay within screen reader cutoffs.

<!-- Pass: descriptive, under 125 chars -->
<img src="sneaker-gray-42.jpg"
     alt="Men's gray running sneakers with mesh upper and white sole">

<!-- Fail: alt is present but vague -->
<img src="sneaker-gray-42.jpg" alt="shoe">

<!-- Fail: alt text is a filename -->
<img src="sneaker-gray-42.jpg" alt="sneaker-gray-42.jpg">

Ecommerce tip: Include the product name and 1-2 distinguishing features. Example: "Women's navy wool blazer with gold buttons, front view."

Not every image needs descriptive alt text. Purely decorative images — dividers, background patterns, ornamental illustrations, spacer images — should use alt="". This tells screen readers to skip the image entirely, reducing auditory clutter.

Many sites make the opposite mistake: they write alt text for decorative images ("blue wavy divider line"), adding noise to the screen reader experience. Empty alt is a feature, not a bug.

<!-- Pass: decorative image correctly skipped -->
<img src="section-divider.svg" alt="">

<!-- Fail: unnecessary description adds noise -->
<img src="section-divider.svg" alt="Blue wavy divider line">

Use the scanner: Our tool flags images with empty alt and classifies them as "decorative" (info) vs "content" (danger) so you know which to fix.

When an image is wrapped in a link or used as a button, the alt text should describe the destination or action, not the visual appearance of the image. If the same link also contains visible text, the image should use alt="" to avoid duplicate announcements.

<!-- Pass: describes the link destination -->
<a href="/checkout/"><img src="cart-icon.svg" alt="View shopping cart"></a>

<!-- Pass: alt empty because link text already describes the action -->
<a href="/checkout/">
  <img src="cart-icon.svg" alt="">
  Checkout
</a>

<!-- Fail: describes the icon, not the action -->
<a href="/checkout/"><img src="cart-icon.svg" alt="Shopping cart icon"></a>

While WCAG does not mandate a character limit, most screen readers cut off alt text at around 125 characters. JAWS stops at roughly 125 characters; NVDA reads the full string but truncates visually. VoiceOver on iOS reads the entire alt text but may overwhelm users with excessively long descriptions.

For complex images (charts, infographics) that need more explanation, use a two-part strategy: a concise alt text summarizing the image + a longer text description elsewhere on the page.

<!-- Pass: concise, under 125 chars -->
<img src="revenue-chart.png"
     alt="2024 quarterly revenue chart: Q1 $420K to Q4 $645K">

<!-- Pass: concise alt + long description in figcaption -->
<figure>
  <img src="revenue-chart.png" alt="2024 quarterly revenue bar chart">
  <figcaption>Revenue grew from $420K in Q1 2024 to $645K in Q4 2024,
    representing 54% year-on-year growth across all product lines.</figcaption>
</figure>

Keyword stuffing alt text — filling it with repetitive search terms — is not only bad for users but also explicitly discouraged by Google. Google's Image SEO Best Practices guide states: "Avoid keyword stuffing (filling alt text with keywords). Focus on writing useful, information-rich content that accurately describes the image" (Google Search Central, 2024).

<!-- Pass: natural description with one relevant keyword -->
<img src="running-shoes.jpg"
     alt="Lightweight trail running shoes with Vibram sole">

<!-- Fail: keyword-stuffed, spammy, terrible for screen readers -->
<img src="running-shoes.jpg"
     alt="running shoes buy running shoes cheap running shoes best running shoes trail running shoes">

Manual checks are impractical for sites with more than a few dozen images. An automated scanner can identify common issues like missing alt attributes, empty alt on likely content images, keyword-stuffed alt, and overly long alt text. Automation cannot verify alt text quality the way a human can, but it gives you a prioritized review list.

Run a scan now: scan-alt.com — free for up to 50 images per month, no account required.