Introduction
Most conversations about alt text start and end with SEO. Add your keyword, help Google understand your image, move on. And while that’s true, it only tells half the story.
Alt text was originally created not for search engines — but for people. Specifically, for the estimated 2.2 billion people worldwide who have some form of vision impairment, and for anyone who accesses the web through a screen reader, a slow connection, or an assistive device.
When your images lack proper alt text, you’re not just leaving SEO value on the table. You’re locking a portion of your audience out of your content entirely.
This guide is for Hawaii business owners and web teams who want to build websites that work for everyone — not just Google.
What Is Alt Text, Really?
Alt text (short for alternative text) is an HTML attribute that provides a written description of an image. When an image cannot be displayed — or when a user is unable to see it — the alt text is what gets read or shown instead.
It appears in three key situations:
- When a screen reader announces the image to a visually impaired user
- When an image fails to load due to a broken link or slow connection
- When search engine bots crawl your page and index your images
Most people only think about the third scenario. But for millions of users, the first scenario is their everyday reality.
The Accessibility Case for Alt Text
Who Uses Screen Readers?
Screen readers are software programs that convert digital text and image descriptions into synthesized speech or braille output. They are used by:
- People who are blind or have severe visual impairments
- People with low vision who struggle to read standard text or interpret images
- People with cognitive disabilities that make visual processing difficult
- People with motor impairments who navigate the web without a mouse
In the United States alone, approximately 7.6 million people have a visual disability. Globally, over 250 million people have moderate to severe vision impairment. These are real potential customers who visit your website — and when your images have no alt text, their screen reader simply announces “image” with no description, leaving them with no context.
The Slow Connection Reality
Accessibility is not only about disability. Many users in rural Hawaii, on older mobile devices, or on limited data plans browse the web with images disabled or experience images that fail to load. For these users, alt text is the only way to understand what your image was meant to convey.
If your hero image says “Get a Free SEO Audit Today” and it fails to load, a visitor without alt text sees nothing. A visitor with proper alt text sees: “Get a free SEO audit today — Malama Digital Hawaii.” The message gets through either way.
The Legal Reality
Web accessibility is not just good practice — in many cases it is a legal requirement. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been increasingly applied to websites, and businesses have faced lawsuits for having inaccessible websites, including missing alt text on images.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — the international standard for web accessibility — specifically requires meaningful alt text for all non-decorative images. WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance is the benchmark most businesses should aim for.
For Hawaii businesses serving both local residents and tourists from across the country, ADA compliance is an important consideration that goes well beyond SEO.
How Accessibility-Focused Alt Text Differs from SEO Alt Text
SEO-focused alt text often prioritizes keyword inclusion. Accessibility-focused alt text prioritizes conveying the full meaning and context of the image to someone who cannot see it. The good news is that when done well, these goals align naturally.
SEO-First Thinking (Incomplete)
alt=”Hawaii SEO services”
This tells Google your keyword. But it tells a screen reader user almost nothing about what the image actually shows.
Accessibility-First Thinking (Complete)
alt=”Malama Digital team reviewing an SEO strategy report in their Honolulu office”
This describes the image meaningfully for a screen reader user — and naturally includes the keyword and location context that Google also values. Both goals are achieved.
How to Write Alt Text That Works for Accessibility and SEO
Be Specific and Descriptive
Describe what is actually happening in the image. Include relevant details: who is in it, what they are doing, where it is, and what mood or message it conveys.
❌ alt=”office”
❌ alt=”SEO office Hawaii”
✅ alt=”Small business owner and SEO consultant reviewing keyword rankings on a laptop in a Honolulu co-working space”
Describe the Function, Not Just the Appearance
For images that serve a functional purpose — like buttons, icons, or infographics — describe what they do, not just what they look like.
❌ alt=”arrow icon”
✅ alt=”Click to download the free SEO checklist”
Handle Infographics and Charts Carefully
Infographics and data charts contain a lot of information that a brief alt tag cannot fully convey. For complex visuals, use a short alt text summary and provide the full data in the surrounding page text or in a linked accessible version.
alt=”Infographic showing the 7 steps of an SEO audit — details in the text below”
Leave Decorative Images Empty
Purely decorative images — background textures, dividers, purely aesthetic icons — should have an empty alt attribute. This tells screen readers to skip them, preventing unnecessary interruptions for visually impaired users.
<img src=”wave-divider.png” alt=”” role=”presentation” />
Write for a Human Listener
Before finalizing your alt text, read it out loud. Imagine hearing it spoken by a screen reader. Does it give you a clear mental picture of the image? Does it help you understand the page content? If yes, it’s working. If it sounds awkward or robotic, rewrite it.
WCAG Guidelines for Alt Text: What You Need to Know
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 include specific requirements for images under Success Criterion 1.1.1 — Non-text Content. In plain English, the key requirements are:
- All non-decorative images must have a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose
- Images used as links must have alt text that describes the destination or function of the link
- Complex images (charts, diagrams, maps) must have a full text alternative available
- Decorative images must have a null alt attribute (alt=””) so screen readers ignore them
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the most widely referenced standard for legal compliance in the United States. Meeting this standard for alt text is straightforward — it just requires intentional, consistent effort across your site.
Tools to Audit Your Website’s Alt Text for Accessibility
- WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluator (wave.webaim.org) — Free tool that visually flags missing, empty, or suspicious alt text on any webpage
- axe DevTools (Chrome extension) — Industry-standard accessibility auditing tool used by developers and QA teams
- Screaming Frog — Crawl your entire site and export all images with missing or duplicate alt text in one report
- Google Lighthouse — Built into Chrome DevTools, it includes an accessibility audit that checks alt text as part of its scoring
The Business Case for Accessibility Beyond Compliance
Beyond legal compliance and SEO, there is a strong business case for accessible websites. Consider:
- Accessible websites reach a larger audience — including the 26% of American adults who live with some form of disability
- Accessible design often improves usability for everyone, not just users with disabilities — better alt text means better captions, better image descriptions, and clearer communication across the board
- Businesses that prioritize accessibility signal trust, professionalism, and inclusivity — values that resonate strongly with customers
- Google’s ranking algorithm increasingly overlaps with accessibility best practices — what’s good for screen reader users is often good for search rankings too
In Hawaii, where businesses serve a diverse community of residents and visitors from around the world — including many older tourists who may rely on larger text or assistive technology — accessibility is not just a legal checkbox. It’s a genuine competitive advantage.
Alt Text Accessibility Checklist
Use this checklist when reviewing images on your website:
- Every non-decorative image has a meaningful alt text description
- Alt text describes the content AND purpose of the image
- Functional images (buttons, links) describe their action or destination
- Complex images (infographics, charts) have a full text alternative nearby
- Decorative images have an empty alt attribute (alt=””)
- No alt text starts with “Image of” or “Picture of”
- All alt text is under 125 characters
- Alt text does not keyword-stuff — it reads naturally to a human listener
Pro Tips
- Make alt text part of your image upload workflow in WordPress — fill it in every single time you add an image, before you publish. It’s much faster than going back to fix it later
- Train your whole team on alt text standards — if multiple people add content to your site, consistency only happens when everyone follows the same guidelines
- Run a WAVE audit on your homepage and top 5 pages today — it takes less than five minutes and will immediately show you where your biggest accessibility gaps are
Why This Matters for Hawaii Businesses
Hawaii’s visitor industry means your website audience is genuinely diverse — in age, language, ability, and device. An older visitor from Japan using a screen reader and a local resident on a slow mobile connection both deserve the same quality experience on your website.
Building an accessible website is one of the most impactful things you can do for your brand — and the alt text improvements you make for accessibility will simultaneously strengthen your SEO. It’s one of the rare wins that helps your rankings and your community at the same time.
At Malama Digital, accessibility is built into every website we design and every SEO audit we run. We believe a great website works for everyone.
What’s Next
Ready to go deeper on image SEO? Read our full guide on how to use alt tags for SEO to see how accessibility and search optimization work together.
Read next: How to Use Alt Tags for SEO: A Complete Guide →
About Malama Digital
Malama Digital is a Hawaii-based digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, web design, and online growth strategies. From local SEO to full-scale digital campaigns, we provide the tools and expertise needed to compete in today’s search landscape and drive consistent, long-term results.
Visit us at malamadigitalhi.com