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.

Website Accessibility: WCAG, Screen Readers, Keyboard Navigation

On a major bank's website, the "Submit Application" button was marked up as <div class="btn" onclick="...">. The NVDA screen reader did not announce it, Tab skipped it, Enter didn't work. For thousands of blind users, this bank simply did not exist as an online service. We see such problems every day in dozens of projects — and developing accessible websites according to WCAG 2.2 AA has become the only way to avoid discrimination and legal risks. Fines for non-accessibility for legal entities can reach substantial amounts, and lawsuits millions.

In this card — how we make web accessibility a11y work, based on real cases, with a specific tech stack and numbers. No generic phrases.

Why is Semantic Markup the Foundation of Web Accessibility (a11y)?

Most accessibility problems are solved by correct HTML, not additional ARIA attributes. <button> instead of <div onclick>, <nav> instead of <div class="navigation">, <h1>–<h6> in proper hierarchy, <label for="field-id"> instead of <div class="label">. This is the basic level, but in practice, every second form in Russian online stores does not have correct <label> tags.

ARIA is needed where native HTML falls short: custom components — dropdown menus, tooltips, modal windows, tabs, accordions. And here the complexity begins.

A typical mistake in custom dropdowns: the screen reader does not know it is a combobox, does not announce the number of options, does not say which one is selected, focus does not move to the list when opened. Proper implementation:

• role="combobox" on the input
• aria-expanded="true/false" when opened/closed
• aria-controls="listbox-id" points to the list
• aria-activedescendant — ID of the currently selected item
• role="option" and aria-selected on each option

This is not theory; it is tested with a screen reader. NVDA + Chrome or VoiceOver + Safari is a mandatory part of QA.

<div role="combobox" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="listbox-1" aria-activedescendant="" tabindex="0">
  <label for="input-1">Select city</label>
  <input id="input-1" type="text" role="combobox" aria-autocomplete="list" />
  <ul id="listbox-1" role="listbox" aria-label="Cities">
    <li role="option" aria-selected="false" id="opt-1">Moscow</li>
    <li role="option" aria-selected="false" id="opt-2">St. Petersburg</li>
  </ul>
</div>

The cost of fixing a single Level A violation varies depending on complexity. Implementing a11y from the design stage reduces the refactoring budget by 2–3 times compared to retrofitting a finished site.

How to Properly Build Keyboard Navigation?

Tab order should match the visual order of elements. If in HTML the "Cancel" button comes before "Confirm", but CSS swaps them — the keyboard user is confused.

Focus trap in modal windows. When a modal opens, Tab should cycle only within it. When closing, return focus to the element that opened the modal. Without this, the user ends up at the top of the page after closing.

tabindex="-1" — element does not enter Tab sequence but can receive focus programmatically. Used for elements that receive focus via JavaScript (section headings after anchor navigation).

tabindex="1" and above is almost always an error. Explicit order breaks natural order and creates unpredictable behavior. Control order via DOM, not tabindex.

Skip links — a "Skip to content" link, hidden visually, visible on Tab. Allows screen reader users to skip repetitive navigation.

Color and Contrast: Requirements and Common Violations

WCAG 2.2 AA requires contrast 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text (18px+ or 14px+ bold). AAA requires 7:1 and 4.5:1.

The most common violations: gray placeholder in inputs (#999 on white = 2.9:1), light gray secondary text, white text on pastel backgrounds.

Color should not be the sole indicator: "required fields are red" without an asterisk — violation for color blind users.

Testing tools: axe DevTools, WAVE, Accessibility Inspector in Chrome DevTools. axe-core integrates into Playwright tests: automatic check of 80+ rules on every deployment. Manual testing finds about 60% more errors than automated.

What Is Important About Media Content and Dynamics?

Images without alt — a common basic failure. alt should be meaningful: not alt="image_123.jpg", but a description of content relevant to context. Decorative images — alt="" (empty, not missing attribute).

Video should have captions. YouTube auto-captions are not a standard; they make mistakes. WebVTT files with correct captions for all educational and marketing video content.

Animations — a problem for users with vestibular disorders. @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) — media query that disables or slows animations for users with that OS setting.

What Changed in WCAG 2.2?

Version 2.2 came into effect with new criteria:

These criteria raise the entry bar, but we already include them in our standard checklist.

Audit and Remediation

Automated tools find about 30–40% of violations. The rest is only manual testing. Minimum scenario: go through the entire critical user flow (registration, purchase, form) using only keyboard and screen reader.

Process

1. Automated audit — axe-core, Lighthouse, WAVE — outputs 80+ rules.
2. Manual testing — NVDA, VoiceOver, keyboard — 2–3 days for a typical site.
3. Violation prioritization — P1 (blocks usage), P2 (creates difficulties), P3 (enhancements).
4. Fixing — iteratively, integrate checks into CI via Playwright + axe.
5. Re-audit — close all P1/P2 before release.
6. Documentation and handover — report with results, maintenance recommendations, team training.

Results and Scope

• Full audit report with violation prioritization (PDF/HTML)
• Fixed code: semantic markup, ARIA, keyboard navigation
• Integration of axe-core into CI/CD for regression control
• Training for client developers on a11y (2-hour session)
• Access to repository with correct component examples
• Guarantee of WCAG 2.2 AA compliance at time of delivery

Timeline

Budget is calculated individually after the audit. Contact us — we will evaluate your project in 1 day. Get a consultation and free checklist when ordering an audit.

Experience and Guarantees

We have been working in web accessibility a11y for over 8 years. Completed more than 50 projects for banks, retail, and government. Certified specialists (IAAP CPACC, WAS). We guarantee passing a third-party audit or will fix for free.

WCAG 2.2 Standard — official W3C recommendation defining web content accessibility requirements.

Wikipedia: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Wikipedia: ARIA

— web accessibility levels a11y per version 2.2.

Order an audit now — get a checklist and preliminary estimate for free. Contact us – we will respond within an hour.