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Email rendering complianceReviewed September 7, 2026

What is Email alt text?

Email alt text is a text alternative that communicates an informative image's purpose when the image cannot be seen.

Who this applies to#

  • Write alternative text for informative email images whose absence would remove meaning or function

What Email alt text requires#

  • Describe the image's purpose in its context; use an empty alternative for decoration that adds no information
Web accessibility

W3C distinguishes informative non-text content from decoration and other exempt cases

What this does not require#

  • Alternative text does not need to repeat adjacent text or describe purely decorative detail

Common mistakes#

  1. Repeating the file name
  2. Describing decoration
  3. Omitting the action of a linked image

Email alt text checklist#

  • Decide whether the image is informative
  • Describe its purpose
  • Avoid repetition
  • Test images off

Official sources#