Alt Text for Decorative Images: When to Leave It Empty

Decorative images, such as divider lines, background flourishes and purely visual icons, should have an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip them. Images that carry meaning need descriptive alt text. An on-page checker that flags every image without text is not always right, so check what each image actually does.

Meaningful vs decorative

Meaningful: product photos, charts, diagrams and images that show something the text depends on.
Decorative: ornaments, spacers and images that add only style.

How to mark an image as decorative

Include the alt attribute but leave it empty:

<img src="divider.png" alt="">

Leaving the attribute out entirely is different, because screen readers may then read the file name instead.

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Why this matters

Alt text helps people using screen readers and gives search engines context for meaningful images. Filling decorative images with keywords adds noise and makes pages harder to use.

Writing good alt text for real images

Describe what the image shows in plain words and in the context of the page. Keep it short and avoid stuffing. See what alt text is and image SEO best practices.

Read your checker results sensibly

When my On-Page SEO Checker reports images with missing or empty alt text, review each one. Add descriptions where the image carries meaning and leave decorative ones empty.

Frequently asked questions

Does empty alt text hurt SEO?

No, when used correctly on decorative images.

What about icons next to text?

If the text already says it, the icon can usually be decorative.

Next steps

Need an accessibility and on-page review? Contact me here.

More in this series (on-page checker questions): start with Free On-Page SEO Checker, then explore: