How Can I Check if Images Have Alt Text - Ensuring SEO and Accessibility

Alt text, also known as alternative text, plays a crucial role in both SEO optimization and accessibility for visually impaired users. This guide provides detailed steps and tips on how to check if images on your website have alt text and why it matters.

Understanding Alt Text

Alt text is the textual representation of an image, providing a brief description or a substitute when the image is not available or cannot be displayed. It is essential for several reasons:

Web accessibility: Screen readers read out the alt text to visually impaired users, ensuring they can understand the content of the image. Backup: If an image file fails to load, the alt text will be displayed in its place, providing a fallback for the user. Search engine optimization: Search engines use alt text to better understand the context of an image, which can improve the image's ranking in search results.

Checking if Images Have Alt Text

Checking whether your images have alt text is a necessary step to ensure compliance with web standards and improve user experience. Here are the steps to follow:

Using Modern Browsers

One simple method is to hover your mouse over an image. If a textual description appears, that is the alt text. However, it’s important to note that while alt text is still relevant, modern browsers primarily give preference to the title tag for such purposes.

Navigating to the Properties Tab

When uploading an image to a blog post, you can see options like resizing, adding a caption, and checking properties. Clicking on the properties tab will reveal the alt tag where the alt text is stored.

Inspecting the Code

The alt text is not visible directly. You must inspect the code accompanying the image. One effective way is to use the Developer Tools in Chrome or other browsers. Here is a step-by-step guide using popular browsers:

Mozilla Firefox

Place your cursor over the image, and the alt tag will popup. This is a simple and direct method to check the alt text.

Google Chrome

The alt text is not easily visible. You can either press Ctrl U to view the page source or right-click on the image and select "Inspect." Then search for the "alt" tag within the code.

Using Developer Tools

Open your website or web page in Google Chrome. Right-click the image and select "Inspect." This opens the Developer Tools. Locate the img tag in the HTML code. The alt attribute within this tag is the alt text you are looking for.

Note: The code for the image might look like this: . The alt text would be within the alt attribute: alt"Image description".

Automated Tools for Alt Text Checking

For bulk checking, you can use automated tools and audit tools like the Image Alt Tag Checker. These tools help you identify images that lack alt text, allowing you to easily add them. Here’s a sample function snippet:

for (let el of document.querySelectorAll('img')) {    if (el.hasAttribute('alt')) {        console.log();    } else {        console.log('No alt text found for this image.');    }}

By running this script, you can easily find images that are missing alt text and ensure they are properly labeled.

Conclusion

Ensuring that your images have alt text is a vital practice for both SEO and accessibility. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can immediately check the alt text of your images and make necessary adjustments, enhancing both the user experience and the discoverability of your content.