Writing Effective Alt Text
Alternative text (alt text) is crucial for making images accessible to users with visual impairments. This guide will help you write effective alt text for your images.
What is Alt Text?
Alt text is a written description of an image that screen readers can read aloud to users who are visually impaired. It's also displayed in place of an image if the image fails to load.
Why is Alt Text Important?
Alt text is important for several reasons:
- Makes images accessible to visually impaired users
- Improves SEO by helping search engines understand image content
- Provides context when images fail to load
- Helps users decide whether to download images on slow connections
Best Practices for Writing Alt Text
Follow these best practices when writing alt text:
- Be specific and concise
- Describe the content and function of the image
- Keep it under 125 characters when possible
- Don't start with "Image of" or "Picture of"
- Include text that's part of the image
- Consider the context of the image
Examples of Good Alt Text
Here are some examples of effective alt text for different types of images:
- For a logo: "Company Name logo"
- For a product photo: "Red leather wallet with multiple card slots and coin purse"
- For a graph: "Bar chart showing sales growth from 2010 to 2020, with a 50% increase"
- For a button: "Download PDF report"
When to Use Empty Alt Text
Use empty alt text (alt="") for decorative images that don't convey content or when the image content is already described in the surrounding text. This tells screen readers to skip the image.