Rule library Text alternatives

<object> elements must have alternative text

object-altWCAG 2.0 A

Ensure <object> elements have alternative text

Who this affects

An embedded object has no text alternative.

How to fix it

Add a title attribute or fallback content inside the <object>.

Effort Low · ~10 min

Where this sits in the standard

WCAG success criterionLevelEN 301 549 clause
1.1.1 Non-text ContentA301-549, 9.1.1.1

EN 301 549 clause 9 applies these criteria to web content. The published version referenced by the European Accessibility Act is V3.2.1, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 level A and AA. More on the standard.

How to check it by hand

Turn images off in the browser, or run the page through a screen reader and listen to the image announcements. If you hear a file name, a hash, or nothing where something meaningful should be, the alternative is missing. Ask of every image: if this were removed, what would the reader need told?

Automated testing settles roughly a third of the WCAG success criteria. This rule is one an automated tool detects reliably — but a clean automated result is not proof of conformance.

Reference

Deque's technical write-up for this rule: object-alt

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