Decorative Image Alt Text in WordPress: Do It Right

Short summary

Decorative images on WordPress sites should use empty alt attributes (alt=""), not descriptive text or missing attributes. Empty alt tells screen readers to skip the image, while a missing attribute causes some readers to read the filename. The post explains how to identify decorative vs meaningful images and correctly set empty alt text in the WordPress block editor.

• •Decorative images need alt="" (empty but present), not descriptive text or missing attributes
• •Meaningful images (product photos, charts, diagrams) need real descriptive alt text
• •WordPress block editor produces correct alt="" when the Alt Text field is left blank

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