WCAG: Verify that every image has a meaningful ALT attribute

[muratcakir]

[mgesing]

Alt Text Best Practices (WCAG 2.1 – Success Criterion 1.1.1)

• Convey the image’s purpose: The alt attribute should convey the image’s purpose or contextual meaning, rather than describing its visual appearance, unless that appearance is essential to understanding the content.
• Be concise: Use clear and brief descriptions, typically a few words or a short sentence.
• Avoid redundancy: Don’t repeat information already conveyed by surrounding text or captions. Provide alt text even if a title attribute exists.
• Don’t say “image of” or “photo of”: Screen readers already indicate that it’s an image. Only describe what’s meaningful in context.
• Decorative images should have empty alt text: Use alt="" and optionally role="presentation" if the image conveys no important information.
• Functional images need functional alt text: If an image acts as a link or button, describe its function (e.g., alt="Search" for a magnifying glass icon).
• As short as possible, as informative as necessary.