How to Check if an Image Has Alt Text — 4 Methods I Actually Use

If you've ever wondered whether the images on your site actually have alt text — you're not alone. It's one of those things that's easy to forget and surprisingly tedious to check manually. I've been working on accessibility tooling for a while now, and these are the four methods I rely on daily — from quick one-off checks to full site audits. Why bother checking? Alt text does two things: Screen readers use it to describe images to visually impaired users. Search engines use it to understand what an image shows. Missing alt text is the most common WCAG violation on the web ( WCAG 1.1.1 ). And fixing it is usually straightforward — you just have to know where the gaps are. Method 1: View Page Source The old-school way. Still works perfectly. Right-click anywhere on the page → View Page Source (or Ctrl+U / Cmd+U) Ctrl+F → search for <img Check each image tag for the alt attribute <!-- ✅ Good --> <img src= "photo.jpg" alt= "A woman reading a book in a library" > <!-- ❌ Missing --> <img s