Web Accessibility: Why Alt Texts Matter

Under Germany’s Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG), which aligns with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), there is a clear directive:

“For any non-text content—such as images, graphics, buttons, and other visual elements—a text alternative must be provided that serves the same purpose and conveys equivalent information.“ (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1)

Alt text remains one of the most effective and widely adopted strategies for ensuring that visual content is accessible to all users, regardless of physical or cognitive ability.

To be effective, alt text should:

• Accurately describe the image content and function
• Be concise and easy to understand
• Avoid unnecessary or redundant information

For individuals who are blind or visually impaired, alt text is essential. These users rely on screen readers to interpret digital content. When images or graphics appear on a website, screen readers depend on alt text to describe what is shown. Without it, users are left without crucial context and information, putting them at a clear disadvantage.

Even outside of accessibility considerations, alt text delivers tangible advantages:

1. Fallback in Case of Errors:
   If images fail to load due to slow internet connections or technical issues, alt text serves as a fallback, allowing users to understand the content despite the absence of visuals.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
   Alt text plays a vital role in improving image discoverability through search engines. Since search engines can’t “see” images, they rely on alt text to index and rank visual content. Well-written alt text enhances visibility in image search results and can contribute to overall site performance.

If your website lacks alt text—or uses vague or generic descriptions—it’s time to act. Merely adding any text isn’t enough; the alt text must be relevant and context-aware.

The requirements for effective alt text vary depending on the image’s role:

• A decorative image may need no alt text at all
• An informational graphic should have a descriptive summary
• A linked image must convey its destination or function

Creating high-quality alt text across a website can be a resource-intensive task, especially for companies managing large volumes of visual content. Manually crafting alt text for thousands—or even millions—of images is not feasible for most organizations.

Managing alt text creation at scale doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With advanced solutions like mediacockpit, companies can efficiently generate alt text for all existing visual assets—across multiple languages—at the click of a button. mediacockpit seamlessly integrates Product Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) in one unified platform, enabling automated, intelligent alt text generation through multimodal AI prompts.

How It Works:

• An AI connector links mediacockpit to a large language model (LLM), such as Gemini or ChatGPT.
• A custom prompt and the image thumbnail are passed to the AI.
• The AI generates alt text based on image content and context.
• The resulting alt text is automatically stored in the asset metadata in the selected language(s).
• When media is exported to your e-commerce site or CMS, all associated data—including alt text—is transferred with it.

This automated approach eliminates the manual burden of writing alt texts for large volumes of media assets like images, icons, graphics, and charts. With the right planning and the right tools, organizations of any size can ensure their websites are accessible, SEO-optimized, and legally compliant.

Want to learn how mediacockpit can help your team generate high-quality alt texts in multiple languages? We’d be happy to show you—just get in touch!