What is alttext?

Alt text, or alternative text, is a brief, descriptive text provided for images on websites and digital documents. It serves multiple purposes, primarily enhancing accessibility by allowing screen readers to convey the content of images to visually impaired users. Additionally, alt text contributes to better search engine optimisation (SEO) by providing search engines with information about the image content, helping improve the website’s visibility in search results. When properly written it should succinctly describe the image’s essential information and function within the context of the surrounding content, ensuring all users have a complete understanding of the material presented.

Alt text for accessibility

Alt text is crucial for accessibility as it ensures that visually impaired users can fully comprehend the content and purpose of images on a website. By providing a textual description of an image, it allows screen readers to convey this information audibly to users who cannot see the images. This practice not only makes web content more inclusive but also complies with legal and ethical standards, such as the UK Equality Act 2010 and the WCAG.

Additionally, it can aid those with cognitive disabilities who might rely on text descriptions for better understanding. Ultimately, alt-text is a fundamental aspect of creating an accessible and user-friendly web experience for all individuals, regardless of their abilities.

Screen Readers

Screen readers are software applications designed to assist visually impaired users in navigating and interacting with digital content. They work by:

• converting text displayed on a screen into speech or Braille output. This is where CamelCase for your #tags is particularly beneficial.
• interpreting HTML and other markup languages to convey the structure and semantics of a webpage.
• announcing headings, lists, tables, links, and form elements, providing context that helps users understand and navigate the content efficiently.

Screen readers can also interact with buttons, forms, and other interactive elements on a webpage. They announce the presence of these elements and provide instructions for how to use them, enabling users to fill out forms, submit information, and perform other interactive tasks.

SEO benefits of alt text

Alt text also benefits SEO by providing search engines with valuable information about the content of images, which they cannot interpret directly. By including descriptive and relevant alt-text, webmasters help search engines understand the context and subject matter of the images. This in turn improves the website’s visibility in image search results.

Additionally, well-crafted text contributes to overall page relevance and can enhance the ranking of the webpage in organic search results. This boosts the likelihood of attracting more traffic, as search engines favour sites that provide a comprehensive and accessible user experience.