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Pulseaccessibility

Image Elements Have Alt Attributes

What This Audit Checks

This audit verifies that every <img> element has an alt attribute. This includes elements with role="img". The alt attribute provides a text alternative for users who cannot see the image.

Why It Matters

Images without alt text are invisible to screen reader users. If the image conveys meaningful information, that information is lost. If the image is decorative, the screen reader may announce the file name instead, cluttering the experience. This is a WCAG Level A requirement (1.1.1).

How to Fix It

  • Write descriptive alt text for informational images. Describe what the image communicates, not what it looks like.
  • Use alt="" (empty string) for purely decorative images. This tells screen readers to skip the image entirely.
  • Don't start with "Image of" or "Picture of" -- screen readers already announce the element as an image.
  • For complex images like charts, provide a longer description via aria-describedby or a linked text alternative.
<!-- Bad: missing alt attribute -->
<img src="/hero.jpg" />

<!-- Good: descriptive alt text -->
<img src="/hero.jpg" alt="Dashboard showing real-time analytics" />

<!-- Good: decorative image -->
<img src="/divider.svg" alt="" />

How Pulse Tracks This

Pulse flags this audit in your Lighthouse accessibility score. When the audit fails, Pulse shows which elements triggered it so you can fix them directly.

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