Implementing Alt Text for Images According to WCAG

Implementing Alt Text for Images According to WCAG

How many times have you seen an "image missing alt attribute" error in the console? That's a violation of WCAG SC 1.1.1, which can cost you up to a third of your search traffic and lead to legal consequences. According to WCAG 2.1, all non‑text content must have a text alternative. In one project (an e‑commerce store with 5,000 products), an audit revealed that 40% of images lacked alt text. After fixing them, search conversion rose by 12%, and complaints from screen reader users dropped to zero. Our team, with 10 years of experience and over 500 accessibility projects, guarantees compliance. A typical alt‑text audit prevents significant fines for inaccessibility. Pricing is customized per project.

How to Write Proper Alt Text

• Informative images: describe the content and function concisely. Avoid words like "image" or "photo".
• Decorative images: use an empty alt and role="presentation". Screen readers will skip them, not interrupting the user.
• Functional images (buttons, links): describe the action, not the appearance.

Examples:

<!-- Bad --> <img src="photo.jpg" alt="photo"> <img src="chart.png" alt="chart"> <!-- Good --> <img src="ceo-photo.jpg" alt="Ivan Petrov, CEO of the company"> <img src="revenue-q3.png" alt="Revenue chart current quarter: 35% growth compared to previous quarter"> 

For decorative:

<img src="bg-pattern.svg" alt="" role="presentation"> 

For functional:

<a href="/home"> <img src="logo.svg" alt="Go to homepage"> </a> <button> <img src="search-icon.svg" alt="Search"> </button> 

Why Empty Alt Matters for Decorative Images

If a decorative image lacks alt, some screen readers read the file name (e.g., "bg-pattern.svg"), cluttering the information flow and annoying users. An empty alt="" explicitly tells the screen reader to ignore the image. Our engineers are accessibility‑certified and always verify this.

How to Integrate Alt Text Checks into CI/CD

Automated accessibility checks should be part of your pipeline. Use axe-core with Playwright or Lighthouse CI. For example, in GitHub Actions you can add a step that runs axe on every PR. This saves up to two days of manual testing per release. Automated audits catch 90% of issues, while manual review catches the remaining 10% with context.

Automated auditing is 50× faster than manual, but a combined approach provides 100% accuracy. Contact us to integrate this check into your pipeline.

Step‑by‑Step Alt Text Implementation

1. Audit current images – run axe-core or WAVE on all pages. Collect a list of images missing alt or with incorrect alt.
2. Classify images – informative, decorative, functional. Define requirements for each group.
3. Write alt texts – for informative: describe content; for decorative: empty alt; for functional: action.
4. Enforce validation – add a required alt field in your CMS (Laravel, WordPress) and validation in templates (React, Blade).
5. Add CI/CD checks – integrate axe-core into your pipeline. Each PR will verify new images.
6. Train your team – provide content managers with a cheat sheet for writing alt.

For complex images (charts, infographics), the alt text should contain a brief description of trends or key data. Full details can be placed in aria-describedby or adjacent text. Example: alt="Revenue chart: 35% growth last quarter, 10% decline next quarter".

Implementation in CMS and Frameworks

In Laravel projects, we often enforce alt_text validation on image uploads to eliminate human error.

class ImageUploadRequest extends FormRequest { public function rules(): array { return [ 'image' => 'required|image|max:5120', 'alt_text' => 'required|string|max:255|min:5', ]; } public function messages(): array { return [ 'alt_text.required' => 'Provide an image description for accessibility', ]; } } 

In Blade or React templates, we display warnings if alt is missing. Below is an example React component where alt is a required prop.

interface ImageProps { src: string; alt: string; // required decorative?: boolean; } function Image({ src, alt, decorative = false }: ImageProps) { if (decorative) { return <img src={src} alt="" role="presentation" />; } return <img src={src} alt={alt} />; } // <Image src="photo.jpg" /> — compilation error 

What's Included

• Audit of all images on the site (report with alt issues and recommendations).
• Writing or correcting alt texts per WCAG 2.1.
• Configuring a required alt field in your CMS (Laravel, WordPress, Drupal, etc.).
• Integrating alt‑text checks into your CI/CD pipeline.
• Documentation of standards and training for content managers.
• 3‑month warranty on all work.

Estimated Timelines

Auditing and adding alt texts to an existing project: from one to three days depending on the number of images. Configuring mandatory alt in the CMS: half a day. Pricing is determined individually. Get a consultation on alt‑text auditing for your site – we'll evaluate the scope and timeline.