Do all images have appropriate alt text?

Providing appropriate alternative text (alt text) for images is a crucial aspect of web accessibility. Alt text serves several purposes, including providing a textual description of images for users who cannot see them due to visual impairments or when images fail to load. Here are important considerations regarding alt text:

1. **Purpose of Alt Text**:
   - Alt text should convey the purpose and content of the image. It should be descriptive enough to provide context and meaning to users who rely on screen readers or other assistive technologies.

2. **When to Use Alt Text**:
   - All images that convey meaningful content or serve a functional purpose should have alt text. This includes decorative images that are purely aesthetic and do not convey information or add functionality.

3. **Best Practices for Writing Alt Text**:
   - **Be Descriptive**: Describe the content and function of the image concisely and accurately.
   - **Keep it Short**: Alt text should be brief, typically no longer than a sentence or two.
   - **Avoid Redundancy**: Do not include phrases like "image of" or "picture of" as screen readers already announce the content as an image.
   - **Functional Images**: For images that serve a function (e.g., buttons, icons), describe the action or purpose they perform (e.g., "Submit button", "Download icon").

4. **Empty Alt Text**:
   - Use empty alt text (`alt=""`) for purely decorative images that do not convey meaningful content or information. This helps screen readers skip over such images, reducing unnecessary verbalization.

5. **Validation and Testing**:
   - Ensure all images throughout your website have appropriate alt text during development and content updates.
   - Use accessibility testing tools to validate alt text implementation and adherence to accessibility standards such as WCAG.

6. **User Feedback and Updates**:
   - Encourage feedback from users, particularly those who rely on assistive technologies, to ensure alt text adequately meets their needs and provides meaningful descriptions.

By implementing these practices, you can ensure that all images on your website have appropriate alt text, thereby enhancing accessibility and ensuring a more inclusive experience for all users, including those with disabilities.