Alternative text for images

Accessibility

Edit

• Home (Getting Started)

Project Roles

• Observer
• Developer
• Writer
• Project manager

Accessibility Projects

• Overview of accessibility projects

Project Resources

• Accessibility resources
• Accessibility testing
• Alternative text for images
• Color contrast
• Keyboard Only Access and Focus Indicator Test

Tools

• Accessibility issues in JIRA
• How to log an accessibility issue

While adding alternative text to an image can be very easy, adding good alt text can be very difficult. For every image on a website there are two important tasks:

1. Identifying whether or not an image has alt text and
2. Ensuring that the alt text is useful and appropriate

Getting started

Before reviewing images for alt text, be sure to read the following tutorials:

• Appropriate Use of Alternative Text
• Text Alternatives for Images

Resources

• Wave- Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool: Can be used to identify if an image is missing alt text or not.
• Alt text issues in JIRA

Reporting

When reporting issues with alt text, do so for a page at a time (rather than for an issue or site section). List the URL and provide details of which images have missing alt text or any recommendations you have for improving existing alt text.

See also

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Guideline 1.1 Text Alternatives: Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols, or simpler language.