Modify This Picture So A Blind Person Using A Screen Reader Will Know That It Is Decorative Only And Does Not Include Important Information: Accessibility Best Practice

Here’s the thing—I’ve seen too many websites fail basic accessibility checks because of one simple oversight. Decorative images need proper marking so screen readers skip them entirely.

In HTML, it’s as easy as alt=”” in your image tag. That empty alt text tells assistive tech this image conveys nothing important. No extra words needed.

WordPress users have it even simpler: just check the “decorative” box in the image settings. Markdown? Same principle applies with standard alt text syntax.

This tiny change takes seconds but makes your content truly inclusive. Every image should either inform or be properly marked as decorative.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the procedure I follow to ensure accessibility without compromising design integrity.

Locate the image element in your HTML and add the alt attribute. For decorative images that convey no meaningful content, set the value to an empty string: alt=””. This tells screen readers to skip the image entirely during navigation.

Verify the attribute is properly formatted with quotes, even when empty. Some validators flag missing quotes as errors, and inconsistent syntax can cause rendering issues in older browsers.

If the image currently has descriptive alt text, remove it completely. Even phrases like “spacer image” or “decorative graphic” force screen readers to announce unnecessary content, which disrupts the user experience.

Check for redundant ARIA attributes too. aria-hidden=”true” is unnecessary when alt is empty—it’s redundant and adds clutter to your markup. Clean code is maintainable code.

Test with a screen reader like NVDA or VoiceOver. Navigate to the image location in the DOM. With proper empty alt text, the screen reader should skip the image without any announcement.

If you hear any description, revisit the alt attribute. Common mistakes include extra spaces (alt=” “) or invisible characters that still trigger screen reader output.

Run your page through automated checkers like axe DevTools or WAVE. These will flag images missing alt attributes but should pass images with alt=”” as valid decorative images.

For manual verification, use the browser’s accessibility tree in Developer Tools. The image should appear with an empty name property, confirming it’s properly marked as decorative.

Add a comment near the image in your HTML or CSS: . This helps other developers understand the intentional accessibility choice during future edits.

I’ve seen too many cases where decorative images get “fixed” with unnecessary descriptions during site updates. Clear documentation prevents these regressions and maintains your accessibility standards.

Tips and Common Mistakes

After years of refining HTML for accessibility, these details separate proper implementation from common oversights.

Attribute Precision: In Step 1, ensure your alt attribute uses proper syntax—alt=”” with empty quotes, not just alt or alt= without quotes. Some older browsers interpret unquoted empty values differently, which can break accessibility entirely. I learned this after debugging a site where VoiceOver announced “null” for every decorative image.

Redundancy Check: Step 2 mentions removing aria-hidden=”true” when using empty alt text. This is critical because both attributes serve the same purpose, and redundancy can confuse assistive technologies. Clean markup isn’t just aesthetic—it prevents unpredictable behavior across different screen readers.

Validation Nuance: For Step 4, remember that automated tools like axe DevTools may flag images without alt attributes, but they should recognize alt=”” as valid. However, I’ve encountered false positives when invisible Unicode characters sneak into the attribute value. Always manually verify in the accessibility tree.

Future-Proofing: The documentation step is often skipped, but as someone who’s maintained legacy systems, I can attest that a simple comment like saves hours of debugging later. Without it, well-meaning developers might “fix” your intentional accessibility choice during updates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use ARIA attributes instead of alt text?
Yes! Use __PROTECT_6 for decorative images. This hides the image from screen readers entirely, but PROTECT_7__ is the simpler, more widely supported method.

What if I forget to add alt text?
Screen readers may read the image filename or announce “image,” which is unhelpful. Always include alt="" for decorative images to maintain clarity and compliance with accessibility standards.

Making images accessible is a simple yet powerful way to ensure inclusivity. By adding alt="" to decorative images, you help screen readers skip non-essential content, improving the experience for blind users. Take action today—audit your website or app to ensure all images follow this best practice! 🌟