Image Quick Tips

No doubt your site utilizes images for a variety of purposes, but not all of them are useful to the navigation experience. These few tips will help you to keep your site well-designed and attractive while making it easier for people utilizing assistive technology to navigate.

Alt attributes

Alt attributes provide a description of what each image is or shows. Without these descriptions, screen readers may rely on file names instead, which can be unwieldy and which often do not accurately describe the content of the image.

Decorative image attributes

For images that are strictly decorative or design elements within a page (those that do not communicate any relevant or important information), the alt attribute should be left empty or “null.”

Text alternatives

When it comes to more complex images (maps, charts, graphs, etc.), you should provide a text alternative that describes all of the information depicted on the image through plain text.

Images with text

If there are images on your site which contain pertinent information for users (offer details, for example), ensure that the alt description includes that text.

With these items taken care of, your site will feature more robust information for anyone who visits and will be closer to providing an experience that complies with regulations.