Alt attributes provide a text alternative for images, used by screen readers when a user cannot see the image and by search engines and multimodal AI models to understand what the image depicts. Fixing this issue means writing concise, descriptive alt text for every meaningful image on the page, and using empty alt for purely decorative images so assistive technology can skip them. The same alt text helps multimodal LLMs and image search tools surface and cite your visuals.

Example

<img src="/images/marathon-shoes.jpg"
     alt="Side view of a lightweight neon-green marathon running shoe">

<img src="/images/divider.svg" alt="">

Where to make the change

• Raw HTML: add the alt attribute to every <img> tag. For decorative images, use alt="" so screen readers skip them.
• WordPress: the media library has an Alt text field on every uploaded image. Fill it once and the value is reused everywhere the image is inserted.
• Shopify: in the product or page editor, click an image and use the Edit alt text option. Theme code that renders product images should pull image.alt.
• Wix or Squarespace: click the image in the editor and use the Alt text or Image description field in the side panel.
• Headless or framework sites: require an alt prop on every image component and lint for missing values during build.

Common causes and how to resolve them

• Attribute missing: add alt="" at minimum so the page validates. Replace with descriptive text on any image that conveys information.
• Alt text is the filename: "IMG_4837.jpg" tells the user nothing. Replace with a description of what is in the image.
• Alt text duplicates the visible caption: screen readers will read both, doubling the user's listening time. Differentiate the alt from the caption or empty the alt.
• Decorative images get descriptive alt text: background patterns and dividers should use alt="", otherwise screen readers narrate noise.
• Bulk imports left alt blank: a one-off audit of the media library or a CMS-side script can fill missing alt values from product names, captions, or asset descriptions.

Best practices

• Describe the function, not just the appearance: for a chart, describe what the chart shows. For a button image, describe what the button does.
• Keep it concise: aim for under 125 characters. Screen readers do not pause mid-sentence, so long alt text is exhausting to listen to.
• Skip "image of" or "picture of": the screen reader already announces it as an image.
• Include the focus keyword when natural: alt text is a minor on-page signal, but stuffing keywords in unnatural alt text harms both accessibility and ranking.

This test fails when one or more images carry disproportionately large embedded metadata such as EXIF data, thumbnails, color profiles, geolocation, and camera information. This metadata is rarely useful on the web and adds bytes to every request without any rendering benefit. Fixing this issue means stripping the metadata as part of your image processing pipeline.

Where to make the change

• Image build pipeline: use a tool such as ImageMagick (mogrify -strip image.jpg), jpegoptim --strip-all, or oxipng --strip all to remove metadata at build time.
• WordPress: a media optimization plugin will strip metadata automatically on upload.
• Shopify, Wix, Squarespace: the platforms strip most metadata server-side. Failures usually point to images served from external sources you control.
• Image CDN: Cloudflare Images, Cloudinary, and Imgix strip non-essential metadata by default during transformation.

Common causes and how to resolve them

• Original camera files uploaded as-is: camera files contain large EXIF blocks (lens, GPS, embedded JPEG previews). Strip during upload or build.
• Color profile larger than the image: embed a small sRGB profile or strip the profile entirely if the image is meant for the web.
• Stock photo metadata: stock images often carry copyright notices, IPTC blocks, and watermarks larger than the image data itself.
• Geolocation in personal photos: beyond bytes, EXIF GPS can leak the photographer's location. Strip for privacy as well as performance.

Best practices

• Strip metadata on upload: make it part of the asset pipeline so no human action is required.
• Preserve only essentials: a small ICC color profile is occasionally worth keeping for accurate color rendering; everything else can usually go.
• Verify with a quick check: tools like exiftool image.jpg show what is left after stripping, so you can confirm only what you want remains.