Keep your alt text fewer than 125 characters Tips and Best Practices for Writing Image Alt Tags. In this case, most screen readers will read out the filename, which could be newsite/images/onepixelspacer.gif’. If the image contains text then the ALT text should simply repeat this text, word-for-word. Millions of peopleare visually-impaired, and many use screen readers to consume online content. alt and title attributes of an image are commonly referred to as alt tag Not everyone uses this null ALT text for spacer images. Imagine how annoying this can be for a screen reader user, especially when you have ten of them in a row. Remember, ALT text should describe the content of the image and nothing more. The purpose of them is, as the name suggests, to create space on the page. Use both the image's subject and context to guide you. Not that: Writing "image of" or "photo of" before an image description is redundant. specific. (Watch the 2-minute video below to learn how to upload images and files to a page.) Decorative images too should be assigned null alternative text, or alt=””. If you’ve tweeted before, think about the alt-text as a tweet describing an image. The same image can have quite different alt text depending on its context. Avoid non-specific words like "chart", "image", or "diagram". You must consider alt text for every image you share in a digital context. How do you know what to write? Work with your developers to add “alt-text” to your imagery when: The image is more than just decorative; The image has no text or content surrounding the graphic Some websites stick in alt=”spacer image”. Learn more in WebAIM's guide to Alternative Text. If the logo is a link back to the homepage then this can be effectively communicated through the title tag. If you have multiple images on one page, only one image per page needs to contain a keyword. If an image is pure eye candy then there’s no need for a screen reader user to even know it’s there and being informed of its presence simply adds to the noise pollution. However, once mastered, this skill will prove invaluable when helping you decide on what to include, or not include, with any individual article. Effective tweeters are forced to pack enough action words into 140 characters to get their point across. Use alt text for every image. If it’s a decorative image then null alternative text, or alt=”” should usually be used – never, ever omit the ALT attribute. Blind users should get as much information from alt text as a sighted user gets from the image. Thankfully, more people have begun to realize how important alt text actually is along with other accessibility best practices for social media. Write your alt text in "Image Description." Don’t use a stock image of a random person like this: text: Specifies an alternate text for an image. Usually, they skip over these images, or worse, read out long and unhelpful image filenames. Admittedly, even I still stress over the alt text I write because I do not have a serious vision disability and, therefore, do not personally rely on it to navigate digital spaces. ALT Text for LRS Antilles CMS Users 3 EASY STEPS: First, insert the image on the page. (Ideally, bullets and icons should be called up as background images through the CSS document – this would remove them from the HTML document completely and therefore remove the need for any ALT description.). Describe the function of the image. Make your alt text … Here are 8 tips on how to write ALT text: Describe the image as specifically as you can. If the content that the image conveys is presented within text in the surrounding context of the image, then an empty alt attribute may suffice. Now you're going back to label those few problematic images on your site. Describe the image. So, What WORDS Do I Use? Most importantly, don’t overthink alt text when you’re writing it. Take a look, 5 designer personas every design team has to have, How to write digital products with personality. This image is a little different because it contains text. Punctuation within alt attributes: As for any text, using punctuation in the text alternative makes the information easier to understand. Alt tags are associated with an image and, when implemented properly, accurately describe the image. Avoid non-specific words like "chart", "image", or "diagram". Here are a few important keys to writing effective image alt text with SEO in mind: Describe the image, and be specific. It might sound obvious, but an alt-text should describe the image. Other browsers (correctly) don’t do this. The text alternative for the image should convey the action that will be initiated (the purpose of the image) rather than a description of the image. Spacer images should always be assigned null ALT text, or alt=”” . 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