Free alt text checker for images
Find every image on a page that a screen reader cannot describe.
Three steps, no account.
- 1
Enter a page address
A product or collection page works best: that is where most of a store's images are.
- 2
Every image is listed
Each image on the page is checked for missing, empty, vague, repeated or stuffed alt text.
- 3
Rewrite what is flagged
Each flag says what to change. Edit the alt text in the product's media settings in Shopify.
What it checks
Enter a page address to list every image on it and flag missing, empty, duplicated, vague and keyword-stuffed alt text, with what to change for each one.
ShopSEO checks this across your whole store and fixes it for you. Accessibility in the app
- Missing and empty alt attributes
- Duplicate alt text across different images
- File names, vague words and keyword stuffing
- Images that are a link's only content
What each number is telling you.
A report you cannot interpret is just a longer way of saying something is wrong.
Missing versus empty
Missing means no alt attribute at all, and a screen reader falls back to reading the filename aloud. Empty is a deliberate signal to skip the image, and it is the correct answer for decoration.
Duplicates
The same alt text across many images usually means a template is writing it. It tells a screen-reader user nothing and adds nothing for search.
Keyword stuffing
Alt text packed with search terms rather than a description. It is unpleasant read aloud and has not helped rankings for many years.
Length
Past roughly 125 characters some screen readers cut it off. If a description genuinely needs more room, the detail belongs in the page text.
The mechanism, not the platitude.
- 01
It is an accessibility feature first
Alt text is how a blind customer knows what you are selling. That is the reason to write it; the search benefit follows from doing it properly.
- 02
Google Images still sends buying traffic
For physical products, people search visually. Alt text and file names are most of what makes an image findable.
- 03
It is also your fallback
When an image fails to load (flaky connection, blocked CDN), alt text is what the customer gets instead of a blank box.
What this usually turns up, and the fix.
Four problems that account for most of what this tool reports on a Shopify store.
The finding
Alt text is the filename
Why it happens
No alt attribute, so assistive technology reads out the file name.
The fix
Describe the image in a short sentence. ‘Navy linen shirt worn open over a white tee’ beats ‘IMG_4417’.
The finding
Every image says the brand name
Why it happens
A template writing the store name into every alt attribute.
The fix
Describe the specific image. The brand name adds nothing repeated four thousand times.
The finding
Decorative images announced aloud
Why it happens
Background shapes and spacer images given descriptive alt text.
The fix
Give them an explicitly empty alt so screen readers skip them.
The finding
Alt text duplicating the caption
Why it happens
The same sentence read twice in a row by a screen reader.
The fix
If a visible caption already describes it, the alt can be empty.
What this will not tell you.
Every tool has a boundary. Knowing where this one ends is what keeps you from over-reading it.
- It checks whether alt text exists and whether it looks reasonable. It cannot judge whether the description is accurate. Only a person looking at the image can do that.
- It does not audit the rest of accessibility. Contrast, keyboard navigation and focus order all matter and are not covered here.
Run this continuously instead.
Install ShopSEO free, run your first audit in under a minute, and roll back anything you do not like. No credit card, no theme edits, no lock-in.