WCAG 2.0 · Level AA · Perceivable
1.4.5 Images of Text
Manual verification
How to validate 1.4.5 by hand
Inspect images of text and determine whether the same presentation can be achieved with styled text.
Start with the extension result
Reopen the reported URL and reproduce the same state (for example, after expanding a menu or submitting a form). Use the result’s Highlight action when available, or its affected-element details and CSS selector, to find the reported content. Apply the checks below to that content and its context. If the element or state has changed, rescan and record that difference before deciding whether the finding still applies.
- Locate images that contain words, including banners, buttons, headings, and text embedded in graphics.
- Check whether the text is essential to the content or is a logo/customizable presentation with an allowed exception.
- Compare the image with the page’s actual text content and inspect at zoom and on mobile to see whether it can be resized and reflowed.
Evidence to record
Record the image, the text it contains, whether an equivalent live-text presentation exists, and any exception applied.
Scope and exceptions
Logotypes and essential presentations have exceptions. A decorative image containing no meaningful text is not an image of text for this check.
Record the review outcome
- Confirmed: the recorded evidence shows the requirement is not met in the tested page state, and no applicable exception explains it.
- Not reproduced: the reported issue is absent in the current state. Record the URL, state, and affected element you checked; this does not prove other pages or states conform.
- Needs more review: evidence is incomplete, the content requires human judgment, or an exception is uncertain. Record what remains to be checked instead of treating it as a pass.