Alternative (Alt) text provides a textual description of your image. It is an HTML attribute that was initially intended to provide information about an element if the page did not render correctly. In the days when websites were accessed over slow dial-up modems, images were often very slow to load.
Today Alt text is an important usability element for sight-impaired users. It is also used by search engines and can be a useful way to improve search rankings.
Some tips for writing Alt text:
- Keep it short. You don’t need to use “photo of” or “image of.”
- Keep it contextual. What story does this image tell that corresponds to the rest of your content?
- If the image is clickable, tell the user what to expect when the image is clicked-on.
SOURCE Harvard University Write good Alt Text to describe images
NOTE The site has plenty of good examples, especially for writing Alt text for diagrams and charts.
SEE ALSO An Alt decision tree courtesy of the W3C
Also on Wild Rye
For free image resources:
Free Stock Photography — From the Smithsonian
Photo Bonanza — Library of Congress Posts Public Domain Image Archive
