Accessibility
Images have descriptions for screen readers
a11y.image-alt
Why this matters
Someone using a screen reader hears nothing where these images are. If any of them are product photos, logos or buttons, that part of the page simply does not exist for them.
Who fixes it
You can, usually
Roughly how long
2 minutes per image
Care needed
Low risk to change
How to fix it
Add an alt attribute describing what the image conveys. If an image is purely decorative, use alt="" so screen readers skip it deliberately rather than reading out the filename.
On your platform
WordPress
Media Library → select the image → Alt Text field, which is the one place worth doing it: set there, it applies wherever that image is used again. Images placed by a page builder are the exception — Elementor, Divi and the block editor each keep their own alt text on the image widget, and it overrides the library's.
Shopify
For product photographs, open the product, click the image and use Add alt text. For anything in the theme — banners, logos, section images — it is Online Store → Themes → Customize and the relevant section, because those images are not in the product library at all. That split is why shops usually have half of them done.
Drupal
Image fields have an Alt field on the form, and Drupal makes it required by default — so a missing one usually means the requirement was switched off on that field, or the image is in a template or a body field rather than an image field. Check the field settings under the content type first.
Joomla
In the editor, click the image and use the Image Description field in the dialog — leaving it blank ticks nothing, so the box below it that marks the image as decorative is what you want for images that carry no meaning. Images placed by a template or a module are edited where that module is configured.
How we score it
Failing this check takes up to 14 points off your accessibility score. It is a fact about your site rather than a measurement, so it reads the same on every scan until you change something.
Does your site pass this one?
This check runs on every scan, along with the other 106. Free, no account, and you see the evidence for each result.
Check my siteOther accessibility checks
- Accessibility check completedThe accessibility pass runs inside a real browser, and a few things can stop it: a content security policy that blocks our script, or a page that never finishes loading. When that happens the accessibility section is marked unchecked rather than passed, because finding no problems and being unable to look are not the same result.
- Buttons have readable labelsA button with no readable label is announced to a screen reader as nothing more than 'button'. This usually happens when the button contains only an icon. If the unlabelled one is a menu toggle or an Add to Basket, the site becomes unusable rather than merely awkward.
- Form fields are labelledA form field without a label gives a screen reader user no indication of what to type into it. Placeholder text is not a substitute — it vanishes the moment somebody starts typing. On a contact or checkout form this is the difference between an enquiry and a visitor who leaves.
- Headings run in orderScreen reader users navigate by jumping between headings. When levels are skipped, that outline stops matching the page and becomes confusing to move through.
- Links have readable textA screen reader announces these as just "link", with nothing to say where they go. Icon-only links, such as social media buttons, are the usual cause.
- Page declares its languageScreen readers pick their pronunciation from this. Without it, English can be read aloud with the wrong accent and rhythm, which is hard to follow.