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How to fix: Image alt text (WCAG 1.1.1 A)

Part of the Accessibility pillar on the Site Integrity Index.

Why this matters

Alt text is the screen reader's only access to image content. Without it, blind users miss the image entirely — and a missing alt is one of the most-tested WCAG Level A failures in automated audits. Decorative images: alt="". Informative: short description.

Background

Every <img> needs an alt attribute. Without it, screen-reader users miss the image entirely. Decorative images use alt=""; informative images need a brief description. WCAG 1.1.1 is Level A — the conformance baseline.

References

WCAG 2.1 SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) · WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices

How to fix

Code snippet for each stack we cover. Pick the one matching your server / framework.

nginx

No server config — content edit.

apache

Same.

cloudflare

Same.

wordpress

Edit each image in Media Library + add alt text. Yoast SEO highlights missing alts. Bulk-edit plugins (Bulk Edit Image Metadata) for large libraries.

flask

Pass alt= explicitly when rendering <img> in templates. Lint with axe-core in CI.

express

Same.

rails

image_tag with alt: keyword. RuboCop accessibility cops can fail builds.

Verify it's working

Browser devtools: document.querySelectorAll('img:not([alt])').length should be 0.

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