Alt text is a filename or placeholder

What’s wrong

An image has an alt attribute, but the value is a filename, a generic word like “image” or “photo”, or an empty description that conveys nothing.

Why it matters

Screen reader users hear the alt text read aloud. An alt value like “img001.jpg” or “photo” gives them no information about what the image shows. The alt attribute exists, so automated tools won’t flag it as missing — but the content is still inaccessible. This is one of the most common real-world accessibility failures.

How to fix it

Replace the placeholder value with a description of what the image communicates, not what it literally looks like.

<img src="/uploads/img001.jpg" alt="image">
<img src="/hero.png" alt="photo">
<img src="/chart.png" alt="chart.png">

<img src="/uploads/img001.jpg" alt="Three team members collaborating at a whiteboard">
<img src="/hero.png" alt="RedFlag dashboard showing 12 accessibility issues on a scanned page">
<img src="/chart.png" alt="Bar chart showing a 46% increase in lead generation from January to March">

If the image is decorative and adds no information, use alt="" instead of a filler word. That tells screen readers to skip it entirely.

Learn more

• WCAG Understanding 1.1.1
• W3C Alt text decision tree