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Image Alt Checker

Scan a page for images without alt text. Every image is listed with its alt attribute, problems first.

Fetching and analysing the page…

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Image Alt Checker - results and guide

What the Image Alt Checker checks

  • Images with no alt attribute at all
  • Images with empty alt text, treated as decorative
  • Linked images whose empty alt leaves the link without a name
  • Alt text that describes nothing: image, logo, photo or a file name
  • Alt text longer than about 125 characters
  • Totals for the page and a full list of images

What is alt text?

Alt text is the alt attribute of an image: <img src="chart.png" alt="Uptime by month, 2025">. It is a written stand-in for the picture. Screen readers read it aloud, browsers show it when an image fails to load, and search engines use it to understand the image and the page around it.

Image search relies on it heavily, since a crawler cannot see what a photo shows. It is also a basic accessibility requirement under WCAG.

How to write good alt text

Describe what the image shows and why it is there, in a short sentence. "Golden retriever catching a frisbee" is useful; "dog" or "IMG_2041.jpg" is not. Skip "image of" and "picture of": the screen reader already announces that it is an image. Keep it under about 125 characters.

Decorative images, such as dividers and background flourishes, should have an empty attribute, alt="", so assistive technology skips them. An image with no alt attribute at all is different: the screen reader reads out the file name instead. When an image is the only thing inside a link, its alt text is the link text, so say where the link goes.

How to use the Image Alt Checker

  1. Enter the address of the page you want to check. You can leave out https://.
  2. Press Check images. The page is fetched from our servers, the way a search engine crawler would fetch it.
  3. Read the findings from top to bottom: problems first, then warnings. Each one says what to change.

Common problems and how to fix them

Many images have no alt attribute

In a content system, fill in the alternative text field in the media library. In templates, add alt to every img element, empty for decoration.

Alt text is the file name

An uploader filled it in automatically. Replace it with a real description.

Icons inside buttons have empty alt

If the icon is the only content of the link or button, give it an alt that names the action, such as Search or Open menu.

Frequently asked questions

Is alt text important for SEO?
Yes. It helps search engines understand images, which matters for image search and adds context to the page. It is also essential for accessibility.
Should every image have alt text?
Every image needs an alt attribute. Meaningful images get a description. Purely decorative ones get an empty alt so screen readers ignore them.
How long should alt text be?
One short sentence, ideally under 125 characters. Put longer explanations in a caption or in the text.
Should I put keywords in alt text?
Only when they describe the image. Stuffing keywords into alt attributes is treated as spam and makes the page worse for people using screen readers.

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