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October 23, 2025

# Does Broken Image Links Still Matter in 2026?

Short answer: yes, but not for the reason it used to.

The old thinking was: Leaving `alt=""` on meaningful images purely out of habit — empty alt text should be reserved for genuinely decorative images only. That framing is dated — search engines have gotten much better at figuring things out without hand-holding. But 'search engines can cope without it' isn't the same as 'it doesn't matter.'

What actually changed is who benefits. Check image URLs after any CDN migration or hosting change — this is the single most common cause of sitewide broken images. That's less about appeasing an algorithm and more about not wasting the crawl/attention you already have.

The practical test isn't whether it's trendy — it's whether skipping it creates work for someone else later (a crawler, a future you, a user). By that test, broken image links still earns its place.

Same question, different tool: does 301 redirect chains still matter?

Image URL Checker either way — checking takes longer to read about than to do.

Try Image URL Checker yourself

Everything in this guide runs directly in your browser — no signup, no install.

Open Image URL Checker →
More on broken image links
Image URL Checker vs. Doing It by Hand: Is It Worth Switching?
A practical look at what Image URL Checker actually saves you over doing broken image links manually, and when manual still makes sense.
The Broken Image Links Checklist: What to Verify Before You Publish
A short, practical checklist for broken image links — the things worth checking every time, not just the first time.
Broken Image Links FAQ: Questions People Actually Ask
Straight answers to the questions that come up most often about broken image links.
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