- Alt text is super important! It helps visually impaired folks "see" your images, and it gives search engines a clue about what your pictures are all about, which can help your website show up higher in search results.
- Be a good describer:
- Tell it like it is, clearly and concisely.
- Get specific! Instead of "a dog," try "a fluffy golden retriever puppy chasing a ball."
- Think about why the image is there. What's its purpose?
- Skip the "Image of" stuff. Screen readers already know it's an image.
- Keep it short and sweet, ideally under 125 characters.
- Boost your SEO:
- Naturally, sprinkle in relevant keywords if they fit.
- Don't keyword stuff! That's a no-no.
- Each image needs its unique alt text.
- Different images, different alt text:
- Informative images: Briefly describe what they show.
- Functional images (like buttons): Say what they do.
- Decorative images: Use alt="" so screen readers skip them.
- Complex images (charts, graphs): Provide a summary, and if necessary, include additional details nearby or link to a more detailed description.
- Special situations:
- Images with text: Write out the exact text.
- Product images: Include the product name and ID.
- Linked images: Describe where the link goes.
- Social media icons: Say "Visit our Facebook page" or similar.
Good alt text makes your website better for everyone and helps people find your stuff!
Creating effective alt text for images: a comprehensive guide
Alt text (alternative text) is a crucial element for web accessibility, SEO, and overall user experience. It provides a textual description of images, allowing screen readers and other assistive technologies to convey the image's content to users with visual impairments. Additionally, search engines use alt text to understand image content, which can improve your website's ranking in image search results.
Here's how to create good alt text for your images:
- Prioritize accessibility and user experience
- Describe the image accurately and concisely. Focus on conveying the essential information and purpose of the image, as if you were describing it to someone who couldn't see it.
- Be specific and detailed. Instead of generic descriptions, highlight key elements, subjects, and actions within the image that are relevant to its context.
- Consider the image's purpose and its relationship to the surrounding content. The same image might need different alt text depending on how it's used.
- Avoid starting with "Image of," "Picture of," or "Graphic of." Screen readers already announce the presence of an image, making these phrases redundant and potentially frustrating for users.
- Keep it short, preferably under 125 characters. While there's no strict character limit, many screen readers and accessibility guidelines suggest this length to avoid interrupting the user's flow and optimize readability.
- Leverage alt text for SEO
- Naturally incorporate relevant keywords. If the image's content directly relates to your target keywords, include them naturally within the alt text to help improve your website's search engine ranking.
- Don't keyword stuff. Overloading alt text with keywords can be detrimental to user experience and may lead to penalties from search engines.
- Use unique alt text for each image. Avoid repeating the same alt text across multiple images on the same page, as this diminishes the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.
- Understand different image types
- Informative images: Provide a brief description highlighting the essential information conveyed by the image.
- Functional images: Describe the function or destination of the image (e.g., a link or button).
- Decorative images: If an image is purely for aesthetic purposes and provides no essential information, use an empty alt attribute (alt="") so screen readers can skip it.
- Complex images (charts, graphs, diagrams): Provide a concise overview of the main message or trends in the alt text, and if necessary, offer a more detailed description in the surrounding text or via a link to a separate page or data table.
- Best practices for specific situations
- Images containing text: Include the exact text from the image in the alt text word for word.
- Product images: Include the full product name and ID in the alt text to enhance discoverability. You can also include details like the color or angle if relevant.
- Linked images: Describe the link's destination or purpose instead of simply describing the image.
- Social media icons linking to your accounts: Alt text should indicate that the icon links to the respective platform (e.g., "Visit our Facebook page").
By following these guidelines, you can create effective alt text that enhances the accessibility, usability, and SEO of your website's images, ensuring that your content is accessible and valuable to a broader audience.