What Missing Alt Text Actually Breaks

Screen reader behavior, SEO signals, and repair patterns for images in content and components.

By TestAccessibility

Tags: imagesscreen readers

Try this on your site

See how the ideas below show up in an automated report for your URL.

Instructional

alt missing

alt="Q3 revenue up 8%"

Meaningful versus decorative images

Empty alt is correct when the image adds no information; otherwise describe the job of the image.

Meaningful images without alt may be skipped or read as filenames. Neither is acceptable for charts, product photos, or instructional diagrams.

Mark decorative images with alt="" so assistive technologies ignore them. Silence is the correct output when the image adds no information.

Image buttons need alt or aria-label. Icons inside links should not be the only text unless the link has an accessible name.

Accessibility Testing for Modern Frontend Frameworks
How React, Vue, and similar stacks change testing—without replacing the need for DOM-level verification.
How Public Sector Websites Should Approach Accessibility
Procurement, citizen services, and documentation habits that keep accessibility from stalling after launch.
Why Low Color Contrast Fails Accessibility
How contrast ratios work, why brand palettes fail in production, and practical ways to fix text on images and UI chrome.
WCAG Explained in Plain English
What the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are, how levels A/AA/AAA differ, and how teams use them in real roadmaps.