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- Up to 10 URLs or paste HTML
- Thumbnails and fixes
Free Image Alt Text Checker
See every image on a page with its alt text. Find missing and empty alt attributes, file names and generic words used as alt text, and fix them. Up to 10 URLs, or paste HTML.
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Lists every image with a thumbnail, its alt text and a fix. Finds lazy-loaded images too (data-src, srcset, picture). Pages behind a login: use Paste HTML.
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How to use it
Check a page's images in three steps
Paste your URLs or HTML
Up to 10 URLs, one per line. For a staging site or a page behind a login, switch to Paste HTML and paste the page's source instead.
Click Check alt text
We load each page the way a crawler does and read every image in its HTML, including lazy-loaded ones (data-src, srcset, picture, noscript). Tracking pixels are set aside.
Click an image, write the alt, copy the tag
Each image shows a thumbnail, its alt text, where it sits and what to change. Type the new alt text in the panel, copy the finished img tag or just the alt, and move to the next image. Download a CSV with your new alts for a client or a ticket.
Built forBloggersWordPress usersShop ownersSEO specialistsAccessibility checks
Quick answer
What is an image alt text checker?
An image alt text checker reads a page's HTML and lists every image with its alt attribute, so you can see which images have no alt text, which have an empty alt (fine for decorative images, wrong for content) and which have weak alt text such as a file name or the word "image". Alt text is what screen readers read out and what Google uses to understand an image. It should describe the image in one short sentence, under about 125 characters.
Examples
What good alt text looks like
Say what is in the picture, as you would to someone on the phone. Short, specific, no "image of".
| Image | Weak | Better |
|---|---|---|
| Product photo | "IMG_2041.jpg" | "Kaju katli, 500 g box, silver leaf on top" |
| Chart | "chart" | "Organic clicks rose from 1,200 to 3,400 a month between January and June" |
| Team photo | "image of our team" | "The Sharma Sweets team outside the Kanpur shop" |
| Logo in the header | "logo" | "Sharma Sweets" (the brand name; it names the link to the home page) |
| Icon-only button | alt="" | "Print this recipe" (what the button does) |
| Decorative divider | "divider line gold" | alt="" (empty, so it is skipped) |
Missing vs empty
Missing alt, empty alt, and which is right
WordPress, Shopify and page builders produce both. They mean different things to a screen reader.
| In the HTML | What a screen reader does | When it is right |
|---|---|---|
<img src="…"> (no alt) | Reads the file name, or says "image" | Never. Add alt text or alt="". |
alt="" | Skips the image | Decorative images: dividers, background shapes, icons next to text that says the same thing. |
alt="A sourdough loaf cooling on a rack" | Reads the description | Every image that carries meaning: photos, charts, product shots, screenshots. |
alt="Print this recipe" on an icon inside a link | Names the link | Icons that are the only thing inside a link or button. |
What it checks
What the image alt text checker checks
Every img, picture and lazy-loaded image in the page's HTML, in page order.
Missing and empty alt
No alt attribute is always flagged. alt="" is flagged only on a content image or inside a link, because on decoration it is correct.
File names and generic words
"IMG_2041.jpg", "image", "photo", "logo", "banner": read out loud they say nothing. We flag them with the fix.
Repeats, length and "picture of"
The same alt on different images, alt over 125 characters, ALL CAPS, and "image of" prefixes that screen readers read twice.
Links and buttons with no name
An icon with empty alt as the only thing in a link leaves the link unnamed. The alt should say what the link does.
Where the image sits
Content, header, nav, sidebar or footer. A missing alt on the hero photo matters more than on a footer badge, and the fix list says so.
Keyword and sizes (optional)
Whether your keyword appears in any alt, and for the first 20 images the file size, type, and whether width and height are set.
Common mistakes
The alt text mistakes we see most
Featured images without alt
WordPress fills alt from the media library field. If it is blank, every page that uses the image has no alt. Fill it once in Media > Library and it is fixed everywhere.
Alt text generated from the file name
Some plugins and themes copy the file name into alt. "DSC_0412" is worse than nothing. Turn that option off and write real text.
Keywords instead of a description
"sourdough bread recipe sourdough bread easy sourdough" helps nobody and looks like spam to Google. Describe the picture; one natural keyword at most.
Text inside images
A banner with the offer written on it needs that text in the alt, or in the page. Google does not reliably read text in images.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is alt text, and is it the same as the alt tag?
Alt text is the alt attribute on an img tag: a short description of the image. People say "alt tag", but it is an attribute, not a tag. The title attribute is something else (a tooltip) and does not replace it.
Does alt text help SEO?
Yes, for Google Images and for understanding what a page is about; it is not a ranking lever on its own. Its first job is accessibility: screen readers read it out, and WCAG requires a text alternative for every meaningful image.
How long should alt text be?
One short sentence, under about 125 characters. Many screen readers stop reading around there. A chart or diagram that needs more gets a caption or a paragraph under it.
Should decorative images have alt text?
No. Give them alt="" (empty), so screen readers skip them. Dividers, background shapes and icons next to text that says the same thing are decorative.
What is the difference between missing alt and empty alt?
Missing means there is no alt attribute at all: a screen reader may read the file name. Empty means alt="" is there on purpose: the image is skipped. The first is always a mistake; the second is right for decoration and wrong for content.
Should I put keywords in alt text?
Only if the keyword is what the picture shows. "Sourdough loaf cooling on a rack" is fine; a list of keywords is not, and Google treats it as spam.
Do I write "image of" or "picture of"?
No. The screen reader already says "image" before reading your alt, so "image of a loaf" is read as "image, image of a loaf".
How do I add alt text in WordPress?
Media > Library, click the image, fill in Alternative Text. In the block editor, select the image block and use the Alt text field in the sidebar. Shopify: Products > the product > the image > Add alt text.
Do logos and icons need alt text?
A logo gets the brand name. An icon that is the only thing inside a link or button gets the action ("Search", "Print this recipe"). A decorative icon next to text gets alt="".
Does the tool find lazy-loaded images?
Yes, when the image URL is in data-src, data-lazy-src, srcset or a picture element, or in a noscript fallback. Images that a script adds later are not in the HTML, so neither we nor a crawler's first pass can see them.
Why is there no thumbnail for some images?
The site blocks hotlinking, or the image URL needs a cookie or JavaScript. The alt checks still work: they read the HTML, not the picture.
Is the image alt text checker free?
Yes, with no sign-up. Up to 10 URLs per check, or paste one page's HTML. A fair-use limit of 10 checks a minute keeps it fast for everyone.
Do you store the URLs or HTML I paste?
No. A result is kept for a few minutes so repeat checks are fast, then it is gone. The alt text you type in the panel never leaves your browser.
Keep going
More free SEO tools
Images are one part of on-page SEO. Check the rest here.
- Heading Structure Checker: the page's H1 to H6 outline, with fixes.
- Website Speed Test: image weight, compression and the files that slow a page.
- Background Remover: edit, crop and compress images in your browser.
- Free Website Audit: alt text, titles, speed and links for a whole site.
- Meta Tag Analyzer: the title, description and og:image behind your shares.
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Every image, one line of alt text
Screen readers read it, Google indexes it, and it takes a minute per image. Paste up to 10 URLs and see what is missing. Free.