Image redundant alt
Quick winFound on 30% of audited stores.
Remove or clear the alt text on images whose description is already provided by visible text immediately surrounding them, so screen readers don't read the same information twice.
What it is
Every image on a webpage can carry an "alt" attribute — a short text description that screen readers announce to blind or low-vision shoppers instead of (or in addition to) showing the image. When an image sits right next to visible text that already says the exact same thing — for example, a product photo inside a link that also contains the product name — a screen reader will read that description twice in a row. This is called "redundant alt text." The fix is to make the image's alt attribute empty (alt="") so the screen reader skips the image and only reads the visible text once, giving a clean, natural experience.
Why it matters
Screen reader users — a significant and legally protected segment of shoppers — hear redundant information announced back-to-back, which is confusing and frustrating, and can cause them to abandon your store. Accessibility failures like this create legal exposure under the ADA (USA), the European Accessibility Act (EU), and similar laws worldwide, which have already resulted in costly lawsuits against online retailers. Beyond legal risk, accessibility is a known quality signal: Google's Lighthouse tool flags these issues and they contribute to a lower accessibility score, which can indirectly affect rankings. Fixing this issue is low effort and directly improves the shopping experience for customers using assistive technology.
How to fix it
- Identify every image that appears inside or directly alongside visible text that conveys the same meaning — common examples include product images inside linked tiles that also show the product name, logo images next to the brand name in text, and icon images next to button labels.
- For each such image, set its alt attribute to an empty string (alt="") rather than repeating the surrounding text. An empty alt signals to screen readers that the image is decorative/redundant and should be skipped.
- Do NOT remove the alt attribute entirely — a missing alt attribute causes screen readers to read out the image filename instead, which is worse.
- If the image is the only content inside a link (no visible text), keep a descriptive alt that names the destination or action, since that context is needed.
- After making changes, test with a free screen reader (NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on Mac/iOS) by tabbing through the affected elements to confirm the description is only read once.
- Re-run an automated accessibility scan (e.g. axe DevTools browser extension) to confirm the image-redundant-alt rule no longer flags those elements.
Fix it on your platform
Pick your platform for the exact steps.
How to fix image redundant alt on Shopify
- Go to Online Store → Themes → click 'Customize' on your active theme.
- For product images on product pages: in the theme editor, these are rendered by Liquid; go to Online Store → Themes → Actions → Edit Code.
- Open the relevant section file (commonly sections/product-template.liquid, sections/main-product.liquid, or snippets/product-media.liquid depending on your theme).
- Find the <img> tag for the product image. If it is inside an anchor tag that also outputs the product title as visible text, change the alt attribute value to an empty string: alt="".
- For collection page product cards, check sections/collection-template.liquid or snippets/product-card.liquid and apply the same empty alt fix to any image whose parent link already contains the product title as visible text.
- Save the file, then preview the store and verify with the axe browser extension.
How to fix image redundant alt on WooCommerce
- In WordPress admin, go to Appearance → Theme File Editor (or use a child theme and edit files via FTP/SFTP).
- Open the relevant template: for product cards it is typically woocommerce/content-product.php or templates/loop/loop-start.php inside your theme or child theme.
- Locate the woocommerce_template_loop_product_thumbnail() call or the direct <img> tag output. WooCommerce renders product thumbnails via the woocommerce_get_product_thumbnail() function, which passes the alt from the media library.
- Go to Media → Library, find the product image, click Edit, and clear the 'Alternative Text' field so it saves as empty — WooCommerce will then render alt="".
- Alternatively, use the filter hook: add_filter('woocommerce_product_get_image', ...) in your child theme's functions.php to strip redundant alt text programmatically.
- Flush any caching plugin cache, then re-test with axe DevTools.
How to fix image redundant alt on BigCommerce
- Go to Storefront → My Themes → click 'Edit Theme' (Stencil CLI) or use the Page Builder for supported blocks.
- For product card images, open templates/components/products/card.html in your Stencil theme via Stencil CLI or the built-in editor.
- Find the <img> tag inside the product card anchor. If the card also renders the product name as visible text in the same anchor or card, change the alt attribute to alt="" (an empty string).
- For the product detail page, open templates/pages/product.html and apply the same change to the main product image <img> tag if the product name h1 is in close proximity.
- Run stencil bundle and push the theme update, or save via the editor. Clear the CDN cache if applicable.
- Verify with axe DevTools browser extension on a live product and category page.
How to fix image redundant alt on Wix
- Open the Wix Editor for your site.
- Click the image element that is flagged (e.g., a product image in a gallery or repeater).
- In the Settings panel that appears on the right (or via right-click → Settings), find the 'What's in the image?' or 'Alt Text' field.
- Clear the alt text field completely and leave it blank — Wix will render alt="" for that image.
- For Wix Stores product images, go to your Wix Dashboard → Store Products → click the product → scroll to the product image and edit the image; clear the 'Alt Text' field there as well.
- Publish the site and re-test with the axe browser extension.
How to fix image redundant alt on Squarespace
- In the Squarespace editor, click the image block or gallery item that is flagged.
- Click the pencil/edit icon to open image settings.
- In the 'Filename' or 'Alt Text' field (labeled 'Alt Text' in most templates), clear any text that duplicates the surrounding visible caption or title.
- Leave the Alt Text field empty for decorative or redundant images — Squarespace will output alt="".
- For product images in Squarespace Commerce, go to the Products panel → click the product → click the image → clear the Alt Text field.
- Save and publish, then verify with axe DevTools.
How to fix image redundant alt on Webflow
- In the Webflow Designer, click the image element on the canvas.
- In the right-hand Element Settings panel (the gear icon), find the 'Alt Text' field.
- If the image is inside a link block or card that already contains the product name as visible text, clear the Alt Text field entirely — Webflow will render alt="".
- Alternatively, check the 'Decorative' checkbox if available in your Webflow version, which also sets alt="".
- For CMS-bound images (e.g., product photos from a CMS collection), go to the CMS Collection settings and clear the Alt Text field in the relevant CMS items, or update the field binding so it outputs an empty string when redundant.
- Publish the site and verify with the axe browser extension.
How to fix image redundant alt on Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- In the Admin panel, go to Catalog → Products → open the relevant product.
- Scroll to the Images and Videos section, click the product image, and clear the 'Alt Text' field so it is empty.
- For theme-level control, via FTP/SFTP open your custom theme folder under app/design/frontend/<Vendor>/<theme>/.
- Find the relevant template — typically Magento_Catalog/templates/product/list.phtml for category pages or Magento_Catalog/templates/product/view/gallery.phtml for product pages.
- Locate the <img> tag and ensure the alt attribute outputs an empty string (alt="") when the surrounding markup already contains the product name as visible text.
- Run bin/magento cache:flush and bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy, then re-test with axe DevTools.
How to fix image redundant alt on Wix Studio
- In Wix Studio, click the image element on the canvas → open the Properties panel on the right → find 'Alt Text' and clear the field if surrounding text duplicates it.
- For images inside CMS-connected repeaters or collections: go to the Content Manager → select the relevant collection → find the image field's associated alt-text field and clear redundant entries.
- Publish the site and re-test with axe DevTools browser extension to confirm the fix.
How to fix image redundant alt on Magento Open Source
- Follow the same steps as Adobe Commerce (Magento) above; the admin panel paths and template locations are identical in the open-source edition.
- After editing theme .phtml files, run: php bin/magento cache:flush and php bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy to apply changes.
How to fix image redundant alt on PrestaShop
- For product images: go to Admin → Catalog → Products → select the product → Images tab → click the image → clear the 'Caption' field (used as alt text) for each language → Save.
- For CMS page images: Admin → Design → Pages → select the page → in the TinyMCE editor, click the image → Image Properties → clear the 'Alternative Description' field → OK → Save.
- For theme template images: edit the relevant .tpl file in /themes/<your-theme>/ → find the <img> tag → set alt="" → clear template cache under Admin → Advanced Parameters → Performance.
How to fix image redundant alt on BigCommerce for WP
- Product images are managed from the BigCommerce admin (see BigCommerce steps above); alt text set there flows through to the WordPress front end.
- For images added directly in WordPress pages or posts, follow the WooCommerce/WordPress steps above.
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Scan my site freeFrequently asked questions
What is Image redundant alt?
Every image on a webpage can carry an "alt" attribute — a short text description that screen readers announce to blind or low-vision shoppers instead of (or in addition to) showing the image. When an image sits right next to visible text that already says the exact same thing — for example, a product photo inside a link that also contains the product name — a screen reader will read that description twice in a row. This is called "redundant alt text." The fix is to make the image's alt attribute empty (alt="") so the screen reader skips the image and only reads the visible text once, giving a clean, natural experience.
Why does image redundant alt matter?
Screen reader users — a significant and legally protected segment of shoppers — hear redundant information announced back-to-back, which is confusing and frustrating, and can cause them to abandon your store. Accessibility failures like this create legal exposure under the ADA (USA), the European Accessibility Act (EU), and similar laws worldwide, which have already resulted in costly lawsuits against online retailers. Beyond legal risk, accessibility is a known quality signal: Google's Lighthouse tool flags these issues and they contribute to a lower accessibility score, which can indirectly affect rankings. Fixing this issue is low effort and directly improves the shopping experience for customers using assistive technology.
How do I fix image redundant alt?
Remove or clear the alt text on images whose description is already provided by visible text immediately surrounding them, so screen readers don't read the same information twice.
Authoritative references
- How to fix this specific rule — Deque/axe (rule reference)
- WCAG 2 overview — W3C WAI
- Images & text alternatives — W3C WAI
- ARIA basics — MDN