1.1.1 Non-text Content
Images, icons and other non-text content that carry meaning need a text alternative that does the same job. Purely decorative images should be hidden from screen readers.
Who it helps
People who are blind or have low vision and use screen readers, and anyone whose images fail to load.
Failures we see most
- Product photos and logos with no alt attribute
- Icon-only buttons and links with no text
- Alt text that is just a file name, such as IMG_2041.jpg
How it gets tested
Our scanner runs these 7 axe-core checks for 1.1.1:
| Check | What it looks for |
|---|---|
aria-meter-name | ARIA meter nodes must have an accessible name |
aria-progressbar-name | ARIA progressbar nodes must have an accessible name |
image-alt | Images must have alternative text |
input-image-alt | Image buttons must have alternative text |
object-alt | <object> elements must have alternative text |
role-img-alt | [role="img"] and [role="image"] elements must have alternative text |
svg-img-alt | <svg> elements with an img or image role must have alternative text |
Automated checks can find failures of 1.1.1, but they cannot confirm that a page passes. A specialist still reviews it by hand.
How we fix it
Our tools draft alt text for each image, a specialist reviews it, and the connector writes it into your media library, pages or templates.
Official text: W3C, Understanding 1.1.1 Non-text Content. Checks listed from axe-core 4.14.0.
Does your site fail 1.1.1?
Our free scan checks up to 50 of your pages and tells you which criteria fail and where.