SEO basics

How to fix: Image alt text

The alt attribute is a short text alternative for an image, read aloud by screen readers and shown if the image fails to load.

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Why it matters

People who use screen readers rely on it to understand images. It also gives search engines context for image search. A missing alt attribute is one of the most common accessibility failures.

How to check

Search your HTML for <img> tags without alt. Our audit lists images missing the attribute.

How to fix it

Informative image

<img src="chart.png" alt="Bar chart: security score rose from 62 to 91 after adding headers">

Decorative image

<img src="divider.svg" alt="">

Next.js

import Image from 'next/image';
<Image src='/team.jpg' alt='The Nexora Shield team at a workshop' width={800} height={450} />

Common mistakes

Writing 'image of…' or 'picture of…': screen readers already announce it's an image.
Stuffing keywords into alt text.
Leaving out alt entirely on decorative images instead of using alt="": a missing attribute can make screen readers read the file name.

Frequently asked questions

Does every image need descriptive text?

No. Purely decorative images should have an empty alt so assistive tech skips them.

Related guides

Guidance is general. Test header and DNS changes on a staging copy first, and check your hosting provider's documentation for platform-specific steps.