Did I ensure that no images I’m using have text in them?

Goal

Ensure that everyone has access to written content.

Why this matters

People with low vision or other visual disabilities can’t modify the text using their browser’s toolset to be larger or have higher contrast if we’ve trapped that text in an image.

How to implement

UX Designers

See Avoid text in images for instructions on what is and isn’t allowed, and how to document text that should overlay an image.

Developers

Implement the text as provided by the UX Designer. MDN’s Styling Text provides a tutorial for text styling if you’re unfamiliar with these aspects of CSS.

How to test

WCAG 1.4.5 Images of Text and WCAG 1.4.9 Images of Text (No exceptions) have the same testing requirements except that 1.4.9 has fewer exceptions. Both can be tested with this test set.

1. Review Avoid text in images to ensure you understand what is and isn’t allowed according to the WCAG guidelines.
2. Right-click and inspect any image that appears to have text on it to confirm that the text is not embedded in the image.
   1. If there is no text in any image, this criteria passes.
   2. If there is text in an image, it must meet the exception criteria outlined in Avoid text in images to pass.