Decorative Images

In the rare instance where an image adds absolutely no additional information to the screen's content, you can mark it as "decorative" and skip writing alt text.

When can you skip writing alt text?

There are only two situations where an image can be considered decorative and therefore not need alt text.

1. The image provides no important information or context.

If an image conveys absolutely no important information necessary for the user to understand the page content, it can be considered decorative because its only function is to enhance the appearance of the page.

2. The information in the image is repeated nearby on the page.

If the exact information communicated by the image is available in an accessible, easily found format nearby on the same screen, it can be considered decorative because it provides no new information and would be redundant to include.

These instances are RARE. You will almost never have an image that does not need alt text. When in doubt, it's always better to give more information than not enough.

Stock Photos

Stock photos are not automatically decorative. You will need to write the alt text yourself for any stock photos that do not already have it.

Finding Images with Pre-Written Alt Text

Some royalty-free stock photo sites provide pre-written alt text. You will still need to check that the alt text is accurate and descriptive before using it.

Unsplash in particular does a good job providing ready-to-go alt text for images.

Is your image also a link?

If your image is a link, it cannot be marked as decorative. You'll need to follow the practices for linked images instead.
Linked Image Instructions »

What to Do with Decorative Images

Just because an image doesn't need alt text written, it does not mean you can publish the image and do nothing else. You still need to mark the image as "decorative" so screen readers know to skip the image when reading out page content.

Platform-Specific Instructions

The way you'll mark alt text as decorative varies depending on the tool or platform you're using to publish digital content.

Omni CMS & Alt Text

Learn how to mark images as decorative for different content and callout snippets in Omni CMS.

PDFs & Alt Text

If you're creating a PDF or exporting an existing document to PDF, you can follow these steps to mark images as decorative.

Word, PowerPoint & Microsoft Documents Alt Text

It's often the best idea to handle alt text in the original document in Word or other Microsoft software. Fortunately, these products work similarly when it comes to adding alt text and marking images as decorative.

Adobe InDesign & Alt Text

Adobe offers a good guide to marking images as decorative (and adding alternative text where necessary) in InDesign and their other products.

Social Media & Alt Text

Don't forget to mark decorative images in your social media posts. Each platform has different instructions for alt text.

Google Docs & Apps

Google does not currently support marking images as decorative. You should write alt text for each image you share via a Google app, even if you would normally mark it as decorative.

Example: Image Used Only for Decoration

This abstract image with a blue background and white hexagonal shapes does not provide any visual information that will help someone understand the content. Since the image is only next to a link and is not a link itself, it can be safely marked as decorative.

Example: Text Repeated on Screen Near Image

Although this Oktoberfest banner image conveys text that a screen reader cannot recognize, it does not need alt text because that same information is available right next to the image on the screen. Text on the page repeats "Oktoberfest: A Celebration of Teaching" and its date in 2019. It can safely be marked as decorative.

Digital Accessibility