Situation

My communication campaign failed because we did not provide the textual alternative of the image containing all the essential information. Due to a server problem, the image was not displayed and the information was therefore not transmitted.

Information

An image containing information inserted in a page may not be visible for different reasons: visual disability, poor internet connection, display of images disabled by the visitor's choice.

The textual alternative makes it possible to give the information conveyed by the image to all those who cannot see it, whatever the reason.

The textual alternative promotes the accessibility of visual content and also allows indexing by search engines.

Our recommendations

• Alt text must be concise (≤150 characters);
• it is enough to simply describe what the image represents;
• since there is a lot of information on the image, the alternative must be supplemented by a detailed description (subject of the next sheet).

Recall

• April 2024 sheet: Images (1/3) – Alternative or not, the rules of the game ;
• W3C: decision tree for alt attribute.

Explore more!

• AnySurfer: good practices for image alternatives ;
• Whodunit, WordPress Agency: How to Choose Alt Text for Your Images on WordPress, sets out rules that are also valid outside of WordPress.

Status

Sent to staff: May 14, 2024