Resolving Missing Alternative Text

What is alternative text?

Alternative text (also called alt text) is a short description of an image. Screen readers announce this text to users who cannot see the image, allowing them to understand the image’s purpose or content.

DubBot reports missing alternative text when an image does not include an appropriate description.

Why is alternative text important?

Alternative text helps ensure that important visual information is available to all visitors, including those using assistive technologies.

Good alternative text should describe the purpose of the image within the context of the page—not necessarily every detail shown in the image.

Adding alternative text in Cascade CMS

1. Open the affected page from DubBot using Open In > Editor.
2. Locate the image identified in the report.
3. Edit the image or image component.
4. Enter a concise, meaningful description in the Alternative Text field.
5. Save your changes and publish the page.

If the image asset is reused across multiple pages, updating the alternative text on the asset may resolve the issue in multiple locations.

Adding alternative text in WordPress

1. Edit the affected page.
2. Select the image.
3. Enter or update the Alternative Text field in the block settings or Media Library.
4. Update the page.
5. Verify the changes on the published page.

Writing effective alternative text

Good alternative text should:

• Describe the purpose of the image.
• Be concise and meaningful.
• Reflect the context of the surrounding content.

Examples:

Good

• Student conducting research in a biology laboratory.
• Roo greeting prospective students during Welcome Week.
• UMKC campus in spring.

Avoid

• image
• photo
• picture
• campus.jpg
• image of student

Screen readers already announce that the element is an image, so phrases such as “image of” or “picture of” are usually unnecessary.

Decorative images

If an image is purely decorative and does not convey information, it should be marked as decorative rather than given descriptive alternative text.

Examples include:

• Background graphics
• Decorative dividers
• Images used only for visual styling

Verify the correction

After publishing:

1. Open the published page.
2. Confirm the image displays correctly.
3. Verify that alternative text has been added in the CMS.
4. Wait for DubBot’s next crawl to confirm the issue has been resolved.