meaningless-alt-text
Images' text alternatives should reflect their content or purpose.
Description
The text alternatives for images are meant to provide screen reader users with information about the content or purpose of each image. There are different ways to write text alternatives for images depending on their role in the interface, but in any case, it has to be human-readable. It, therefore, cannot be a UUID or a hash string, for example.
General and vague phrases such as "image", "img", "pic", "undefined", “null”, and the like are also considered meaningless, and it is assumed that they do not describe any content or purpose.
Quick Fixes
The text alternative may be meaningless for various reasons. If the image was uploaded via a CMS:
- Ensure that an "
alt" text was entered in the correct field in the CMS. - Ensure that the "
alt" text data is saved to the database. - Ensure that the "
alt" text data is received and handled correctly in the UI.
If the image and its "alt" text are hard coded, ensure to replace the meaningless "alt" text.
To learn how to write good text alternatives, see the W3C, Images Tutorial, which teaches how to write correct text alternatives according to the content of the image and its role in the interface.
How Users Are Affected
Screen reader users will not perceive the content and purpose of the image, and therefore, they may miss essential information for understanding or operating the UI.
WCAG Success criteria
This issue might cause elements to fail one or more of the following Success criteria:
1.1.1 Non-text Content (A)
Recommended Reading
- Understanding Non-text Content, WCAG 2.2 Understanding Docs
- W3C, Images Tutorial