Accessibility
What is Alt Text (Alternative Text)?
Alt text is an HTML attribute that describes an image for screen readers and search engines.
Alt text (alternative text or alt attribute) is an HTML attribute that provides a text description of an image.
What does it do?
- ●Accessibility: Screen readers read alt text to visually impaired users
- ●Image SEO: Google uses alt text to understand image content
- ●Fallback display: If the image doesn't load, the alt text displays instead
Best practices
- ●Describe the content and function of the image
- ●Include the keyword naturally (no stuffing)
- ●125 characters maximum
- ●Don't start with "image of" or "photo of"
- ●Leave empty (
alt="") for decorative images
Example
SEO Impact
Alt text is essential for image ranking (Google Images) and contributes to the page's overall SEO.
Related Terms
What Does A11y Mean?
A11y is the abbreviation for 'accessibility' (11 letters between a and y). It's the set of practices to make a site usable by everyone.
What is Alt Text?
Alt text is an HTML attribute describing an image for screen readers and search engines.
What are the WCAG Standards?
WCAG are international web accessibility guidelines ensuring a site is usable by everyone.
What is ARIA?
ARIA is a set of HTML attributes that improve accessibility of interactive elements for assistive technologies.