Alt text, also known as “alternative text,” is a fundamental element of web accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO) that you cannot overlook.
Alt text helps make websites more inclusive and user-friendly and has a significant role in SEO. This post explores a brief history of alt text, its impact on web accessibility, SEO, user experience, and best practices in using them.
What is Alt Text
Alt text is short for “alternative text” and is a textual description assigned to an image on a webpage to provide an alternative when the image is not accessible to users. It goes by various names, such as “alt attributes,” “alt descriptions,” or technically, though incorrectly, “alt tags.”
Purpose of Alt Text
Alt text serves three primary but essential purposes:
- It enables screen readers used by visually impaired users to audibly describe the content and function of the image, making the web page more accessible.
- If the image fails to load, the alt text is displayed visually instead of the image, ensuring that users still receive valuable information.
- Search engine crawlers and bots utilize alt text to better understand the page’s content and index the image correctly for image search results.
History of Alt Text
The concept of alt text was introduced in the early days of HTML to support text-based browsers. The HTML 1.2 draft in 1993 first included the alt attribute to provide support for browsers that could not render images. Over time, it evolved as a requirement for the img and area tags in HTML 4.01, which was released in 1999. The attribute aimed to improve web accessibility, especially for individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers, and was later included in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure greater accessibility for all users.
Impact on Web Accessibility
Alt tags greatly improve web accessibility for individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers. When an image is inaccessible due to slow loading or other issues, the alt text provides a meaningful description of the image content. Furthermore, alt text helps with:
- Enhancing Accessibility for Users with Visual Impairments: Alt text is essential for users who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers or braille displays, to access web content. When an image is on a webpage, screen readers read the alt text to provide a textual description of the image’s content and function. This allows visually impaired users to understand and interact with the webpage effectively, ensuring a more inclusive and equitable browsing experience.
- Avoiding Accessibility Barriers and Legal Consequences: Failing to provide appropriate alt text can create accessibility barriers and may lead to legal consequences for website owners. Inaccessibility due to missing or inadequate alt text can result in the exclusion of users with disabilities from accessing important information, potentially harming the website’s reputation, traffic, and conversion rate. Research indicates that a significant number of websites still lack proper alt text, making it a crucial aspect of web accessibility to address.
- Providing Critical Context for Images: Alt text is important for users with visual impairments and for all users when images fail to load correctly. Instead of displaying image file names, alt text provides context and information about the images, enabling users to understand the content and purpose of the visuals. Without alt text, users may miss out on valuable information conveyed through images.
Importance of Alt Tags for SEO
Alt text also plays a role in SEO and search engine indexing. When search engines crawl webpages, they use alt text to understand the content and relevance of images. When the images are correctly formatted using alt text, it contributes to how the page is indexed and influences its search engine ranking. Using relevant keywords in alt tags is recommended, but keyword stuffing should be avoided to prevent search engines from penalizing the page. Alt tags should not be prioritized over essential SEO elements like titles, interlinking, and meta descriptions. Still, they are significant for pages that heavily rely on images with limited text.
Importance of Alt Tags for User Experience
Alt text contributes to a better user experience for all visitors to a website. By providing descriptive text alternatives to images, web authors enable users to understand the purpose and context of visual content. Properly crafted alt text enhances a webpage's usability and ensures that users can engage with the content effectively.
Location of Alt Tags:
Alt text is placed within the image tag in the HTML code. For example:
<img src=“myimage.png” alt=“nike_air_zoom” />
Best Practices for Writing Alt Tags
To optimize alt tags for maximum impact, consider the following best practices:
- Keep alt text concise and relevant, using keywords where appropriate.
- Ensure that alt tags accurately describe the content and purpose of the image.
- Avoid keyword stuffing and use natural language in the alt text.
- Use alt tags for all images that convey important information or add context to the page.
- Test the effectiveness of alt tags by checking how they appear when images are disabled or using tools that simulate screen reader experiences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, alt text is vital in making the web more accessible and user-friendly. It provides textual descriptions for images on web pages, serving as an alternative when the images are not accessible to users. Alt text enables screen readers to audibly describe images, benefiting visually impaired users and ensuring a more inclusive browsing experience. Moreover, it helps avoid accessibility barriers and potential legal consequences for website owners by ensuring that all users can access important information regardless of their abilities. Alt text also contributes to SEO, as it helps search engine crawlers understand the content of images and index web pages correctly. By following best practices for writing alt tags, such as keeping them concise and relevant, accurately describing the image’s content, and avoiding keyword stuffing, web authors can enhance the overall user experience and improve the usability of their web pages. Implementing alt text effectively ensures your website is accessible to all users and ranks well in search engine results. For more information on web accessibility and alt-text best practices, feel free to contact us for expert guidance and assistance. Contact us today to make your web content more accessible and user-friendly.
