--- title: "Empty srcset Attribute on Images: Why It Happens and How to Fix It | bseoa" description: "An image has a srcset attribute with no value. The HTML spec requires srcset to contain at least one image candidate, so srcset=\"\" is invalid markup. Browsers …" image: "https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/static/images/black-seo-analyzer-og-image.png" canonical: "https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/empty-srcset-attribute" language: "en" --- # Empty srcset Attribute on Images: Why It Happens and How to Fix It Mobile Analyzer ## What is this warning? An image has a srcset attribute with no value. The HTML spec requires srcset to contain at least one image candidate, so srcset="" is invalid markup. Browsers ignore it and fall back to src, which means the page loses responsive images, often because a lazy-loading script or template left the attribute behind. ## How to Fix This Issue ### How to Fix It #### What bseoa flags ``` Our team ``` The browser discards the empty `srcset` and loads `src` at every screen size. Phones download the full desktop image, and high-density displays never get the sharper version. bseoa looks for width descriptors such as `480w`, so it also reports a `srcset` that only uses pixel-density descriptors, like `srcset="/team.jpg 1x, /team@2x.jpg 2x"`. That markup is valid; if that is what the page uses, you can ignore this warning for those images. #### Common causes - JavaScript lazy-loading libraries that move the real candidates into `data-srcset` and leave `srcset=""` as a placeholder until the image scrolls into view. - Theme or CMS templates that always print `srcset="{{ image.srcset }}"`, even when no resized versions exist. - Image optimization plugins that failed to generate derivatives for an upload. #### Fix option 1: remove the attribute If there's only one size of the image, drop `srcset` and give the image explicit dimensions: ``` Our team ``` #### Fix option 2: populate it If you have resized versions, list them with width descriptors and add `sizes` so the browser can choose: ``` Our team ``` #### Fix option 3: switch to native lazy loading If a lazy-loading script is creating the empty attributes, native `loading="lazy"` works in current browsers and keeps the real `srcset` in the HTML. Don't lazy-load the image most likely to be the Largest Contentful Paint element. ``` Our team ``` #### Why this matters Oversized images on mobile are one of the most common causes of slow Largest Contentful Paint, and Google uses mobile-first indexing. Keeping real image URLs in `src` and `srcset`, rather than only in `data-` attributes, also makes sure crawlers can discover the images. ### SEO Impact This issue can affect your site's search engine rankings and user experience. Addressing it promptly helps ensure optimal performance and visibility in search results. ### Automatic Detection bseoa automatically checks for this warning during site analysis, along with hundreds of other technical SEO issues. ## Other Mobile Analyzer issues - [Add a Viewport Meta Tag to Enable Responsive Design](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/missing-viewport-meta-tag) - [Add Media Query Styles for Defined Breakpoints](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/missing-media-query-for-breakpoint) - [Add More Space Between Touch Targets to Prevent Tapping Errors](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/insufficient-spacing-between-touch-targets) - [Add Resource Hints to Improve Mobile Loading Performance](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/no-resource-hints) - [Add the sizes Attribute to Responsive Images for Faster Loading](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/missing-sizes-attribute) - [Consider a Service Worker for Offline Capabilities and Performance](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/no-service-worker) - [Correct Viewport initial-scale for Proper Mobile Display](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/viewport-scale-out-of-range) - [Enable Zooming for Better Mobile Accessibility](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/zooming-disabled) - [Implement Lazy Loading for Better Mobile Performance](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/resource-without-lazy-loading) - [Implement Lazy Loading for Images to Improve Page Speed](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/images-without-lazy-loading) - [Improve Accessibility by Allowing Sufficient Zoom](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/restrictive-maximum-scale) - [Increase Font Size for Better Mobile Readability](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/font-size-too-small-for-mobile) - [Increase Font Size Percentage for Mobile Devices](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/font-size-percentage-too-small) - [Increase Font Size Scaling for Better Mobile Readability](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/font-size-scaling-too-small) - [Increase the Size of Touch Targets for Better Mobile Usability](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/small-touch-target) - [Optimize Image srcset Progression for Better Performance](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/suboptimal-image-width-progression) - [Optimize Render-Blocking Resources for Mobile Performance](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/render-blocking-resources-impacting-mobile-performance) - [Provide Smaller Image Variants for Faster Mobile Loading](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/missing-small-image-variant) - [Set Viewport Width Correctly for Mobile Devices](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/viewport-width-too-small) - [Use width Instead of device-width in Media Queries](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/device-width-in-media-query) - [Use Mobile-Friendly Font Size Units](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/unsupported-font-size-unit) - [Use Standard Breakpoints for Better Device Compatibility](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/mobile-analyzer/non-standard-breakpoint) ## Ready to Unlock Your Site's Full SEO Potential? 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