Publishing is all about promoting an accessible and inclusive approach for readers. Alternative text (or alt text) is one small, but often forgotten, way to promote inclusivity.
Alt text is an important way to assist those who have visual impairments by providing readers with a basic description of a visual element in yinour publication. Alt text is usually included with photos used in an online publication or web page but can also be provided for other visuals such as animations, tables, or videos. Alt text is incorporated as an HTML attribute and can be displayed when a visually impaired reader cannot see the image clearly and wants to know what is in the image. In these cases, the descriptive alt text is read aloud by a screen reader to assist the visually impaired. It also helps in cases where a reader has poor internet connectivity, and an image cannot be properly displayed. Alt text is also important since it helps with basic search engine optimization (SEO) as better descriptions for images helps with indexing.
For an example of alt text, take this adorable picture of a puppy:
Dog in grass in sunshine. Image utilized to demonstrate SEO best practices and alt tagging, alt text for images
An appropriate alt text for this image would be: <img src=”dog in grass.jpg” alt=”tan puppy lying down in grass”>.
Most experts agree that there are no hard-and-fast rules for creating alt text since it is open to interpretation. That being said, here are a few helpful suggestions for crafting your images’ alt text:
- Keep it simple, but also be specific. This might seem like an oxymoron, but it is important to be able to convey the details of an image in a succinct way. The key is to make the alt text meaningful and descriptive for someone who cannot see the image. When writing the text, think about how you would describe it in conversation with someone who is visually impaired. That being said, do not editorialize, be overly descriptive, or include keywords just for the sake of SEO advancement. Most screen readers cut off text at 125 characters, so it is best to keep descriptions well under this limit.
- Avoid regional words or slang. Like with all writing, knowing your audience is crucial in creating alt text, and it is important to understand that certain words and phrases are specific to certain countries and regions. For instance, in the United States, when it comes to carbonated beverages, some people use the word “pop,” others say “soda,” and some say “coke” whether they are actually talking about a can of Coca-Cola or not depending on what part of the country they grew up in. Some acronyms and abbreviations are well recognized in some countries but are confusing to people in other countries. It is important to think about these regional differences and to consider what would be the most common expression for your audience before writing out your descriptive text.
- Alt text and image captions should not be the same. Even though they serve similar purposes, it is important to note that alt text and image captions should not be the same text. Image captions tend to be far more descriptive, can include details about how the image was created or permission correspondence regarding where the image originally appeared, and can include data analysis in cases of scientific graphs and charts. Alt text should mainly be a descriptive statement and should not go into specific qualifiers of the image or how it connects to the text around it. For example, the alt text for the image of the puppy from before is just a description of the general image, whereas the image caption may include the name of the dog and its significance within the web publication.
- Some images do not need alt text. I know I just spent four paragraphs describing the importance of alt text, but the fact is that it is not needed for all images. Alt text is not needed for images that are purely decorative and do not provide any content for your journal or website. This can include logos, borders, and decorative clip art. Something simple like “logo” or “descriptive image” can be used as the alt text placeholder in these cases.
Alt text is an often forgotten but important aspect of web development and electronic publishing. Understanding the basics of alt text and how to effectively write it can help you to make your journal website and online publications as accessible as possible. Does your journal use alt text for its images? Have you discovered any tricks for writing good alt text? Please let us know in the comments below.
