Alt text

Reasons for using alt text

Alternative text, or alt text, needs to convey the message you expect to be received by looking at the image.  Alt text is used for more than you might think.

Three reasons to include alt text:

• The image may fail to load
  • Alt text gives the visitor an idea of what you were trying to convey with the image
• Search engines look at alt text
  • By providing more information for search engines, you increase your chances of your page appearing towards the top of the search results
• Users that have blindness or visual impairments need the image’s context and purpose
  • Screen readers use alt text to provide the user with the information you found important enough to add the picture to your site.  Therefore, you must add what you want to convey in the alt text

Sample images and alt text examples

Depending on the image, the alt text may need to be edited based on the context. In the examples below, the same image could be used in various circumstances, but that means the alt should change accordingly.

 

Tips

• Be concise, but descriptive
• Write the alt text for humans to understand
  • Search engines will still catch the keywords
• Don’t include keywords that do not describe the image

Virtual Accessibility Expedition Home Page