Accessibility · Check img-alt
Image alt text
The `alt` attribute on every `<img>` tag. Describes what the image shows. Two readers care: screen readers (accessibility) and AI vision models (when ChatGPT/Claude/Perplexity describe your site to a user, they prefer your alt text over re-OCRing the image pixel-by-pixel).
Why it matters
The case for image alt
Accessibility is the original reason (WCAG 1.1.1 — screen readers need alt to describe images to blind users). AI vision is the newer reason — Claude and ChatGPT can read alt text MUCH faster than they can re-process the image, and they trust your text more than their own OCR. A site where 0 of 10 sampled images have alt is a real signal that no one has done an accessibility pass.
How this audit checks it
What we actually look at
We sample the first 10 `<img>` tags on the homepage and count how many have non-empty `alt` attributes. PASS if 90%+ have alt; WARN if 50-90%; FAIL below 50%.
Copy-pasteable fix
Snippet to drop in
<img src="hero.jpg" alt="Owner standing in front of company truck — service area: Tacoma WA">Steps
How to apply it
- Edit each `<img>` tag and add a descriptive alt attribute
- Describe what's in the image, not 'image of...' (screen readers already announce 'image')
- Decorative images (icons, dividers, hero backgrounds without semantic meaning) can use alt="" to be skipped
- Be specific: 'Crew installing fire sprinkler heads in office ceiling' beats 'sprinkler photo'
Common mistakes
What goes wrong
- Using filename as alt (`alt="IMG_2463.jpg"`) — Wix and Squarespace sometimes do this by default
- Setting alt="" on content-bearing hero images (decorative-only is the bar for empty alt)
- Including 'photo of' or 'image of' in alt text (redundant — screen reader already announces it's an image)
Other checks in the baseline
Continue your audit walk-through.
Next step
See how your site scores.
Run the free 13-point audit on your URL — takes ~10 seconds, shows exactly which checks pass and fail with copy-pasteable fixes.