. The alt attribute is supposed to be an alternative for the image, usually stating its purpose. Image with an alt tag: “steak If you’re using a modern CMS, it should be possible to add alt text without having to dig into the HTMLcode. The purpose of the alt attribute is not only to ensure accessibility; it is … The alt attribute is the HTML attribute used in HTML and XHTML documents to specify alternative text (alt text) that is to be rendered when the element to which it is applied cannot be rendered. People often incorrectly use the terms “alt attribute” and “alt text” interchangeably. Proper use of the altattribute can be summarized with four key points: 1. Alt is an attribute available in area, img and input tags. By default, it uses the image filename in the title attribute, which, if you don’t enter an alt attribute, it copies to the alt attribute. It is considered good for SEO prospective. Now you know how important it is to provide a text alternative for every image on your website. Internet Explorer 7 and earlier render text in alt attributes as tooltip text, which is not standards-compliant. The element provides alternate text for an image. They are helpful to search engines and visually impaired visitors. The required alt attribute specifies an alternate text for an image, if the image cannot be displayed. The attribute was introduced in HTML 2[2] and in HTML 4.01 was required for the img and area tags. It can be an empty or null attribute: alt=.[1]. You can use the Screaming Frog SEO Spider tool for free (and paid) to view your image alt text and find missing alt attributes and alt text on your website. For example, in WordPress, there’s a field for alt text when adding an image t… Keep alternative text brief. The 'alt' Attribute. [3] It is optional for the input tag and the deprecated applet tag. The alt attribute provides alternative information for an image if a user for some reason cannot view it (because of slow connection, an error in the src attribute, or if the user uses a screen reader). The alt attribute in particular is the text alternative of an image. If you want to see what HTML looks like, edit a blog post in WordPress and click the Text tab to show the HTML version of a blog post. Textual descriptions that contain target keywords can increase your chances of ranking highly in image searches. Here is an image for which the alt attribute is "In the sky flies a red flag with a white cross whose vertical bar is shifted toward the flagpole.". There are lots of other image attributes. Google states: Simply add an alt attribute to the tag in the HTMLcode. 2. © 2007-2021 TapClicks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The ALT text adds a text description to an image on a Web page, and should be used for all images, graphical bullets, and graphical horizontal rules. This makes images with alt attributes more likely to be found. Duplicate the information conveyed by the image. What Is The Image Alt Attribute? One of the functions of the 'alt' attribute is to provide information about the image to assistive technologies and search engines. Raven by TapClicks - SEO + SEM Tools with Deeper Competitive Insights. ", Bug 25537 - Alt text is not displayed as a tooltip over , "What's New in Internet Explorer 8 – Accessibility and ARIA", Requirements for providing text to act as an alternative for images, Alternative text for images: the alt attribute, Mini-FAQ about the alternate text of images, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alt_attribute&oldid=998468352, Wikipedia articles with style issues from September 2020, Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from September 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 5 January 2021, at 14:36. Within the image tag, the src attribute (short for source) explains which image to display. The title attribute can be used for supplemental information. It looks like this: The attributes within a tag specify what is displayed and how it looks. So, optimizing images can result in higher traffic to your website. Smily face is the alt text specified within the alt attribute alt=”Smily face”. An alt attribute's value should clearly and concisely describe the image's content. The alt attribute is used within the image tag within HTML. ALT text is accessed by screen reader users to provide them with a text equivalent of images. Every image should have an alt attribute to be accessible, but it need not contain text. The alt attribute provides an “alternative description” for the image. Alt text is the value the alt attribute specifies. A text equivalent brings the following benefits to your web site and its visitors in the following common situations: ", "http://upload.a.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Dannebrog.jpg/180px-Dannebrog.jpg", personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Why doesn't Mozilla display my alt tooltips? The value of the alt attribute describes the image in words. This alt attribute is used to provide information about images like what is an image or image coordinates, image author, etc. Below that is a group photo of company employees. The HTML for this image might be something like the following: A visually impaired reader using a screen reader such as Orca will hear the alt text in place of the image. The alt attribute is the HTML attribute used in HTML and XHTML documents to specify alternative text (alt text) that is to be rendered when the element to which it is applied cannot be rendered. This plugin will provide a CSV (comma separated values) file that lists all of your images used in your content — and their corresponding Alt attribute. The alt attribute is defined in a set of tags (namely, img, area and optionally for input and applet) to allow you to provide a text equivalent for the object. The alt attribute is used to provide a text description for those who cannot see the image in your document. A graphical browser typically will display only the image, and will display the alt text only if the user asks it to show the image's properties or has configured the browser not to display images, or if the browser was unable to retrieve or to decode the image. As you already know, people with visual impairment rely on screen readers to read and interpret web content to a format they can understand. src, image size. This includes users who use browsers that do not support image display or whose image display is turned off, users with visual impairments, and users who use screen readers. The alt attribute is an alternative text that is not only displayed when - for example - your image is corrupted or the path to this image has changed and can no longer be found. Keep in mind the purpose and context of the image and what would be useful to someone who cannot see it. This makes the page navigable for users of screen readers or non-graphical browsers. The alt attribute is used in a(n) _____ element to provide an alternate _____ description for the image. Alt Attribute. The "alt" attribute defines an alternate text for the image, if it can't be displayed. NEW! Always use the altattribute, even if you leave it blank. Make sure the description of the image is useful. For instance, you can specify the height and width of an image with attributes. Remembering to use the alt attribute by itself doesn’t necessarily provide much benefit to users. In this case, if the image truly does not add to the content, then a blank alt attribute should be included in the form of alt="". Better yet, you know how to use alternative text properly so that it is as effective as possible. HTML is made up of different tags that explain what should be displayed and how. The above image tag example also contains a second attribute, the alt= attribute. Recommended Articles. But, if images have alt attributes, there is a way to figure out the purpose of these images. Alt attributes offer a text-based alternative for translating images, and more specifically for incorporating relevant keywords. ALT attributes refer to an alternative (ALT) text, which is inserted into the image files on a website to describe its content. However, I like the mouse hover feature and will be adding it to all my images. When you upload an image to WordPress, you can set a title and an alt attribute. The alt attribute helps search engines decipher the subject of an image so they know when to include an image in relevant search results. The term “alt tag” is incorrect usage and a melding of two separate terms. An alt attribute is the “alternative” text version of an image that is displayed on a website when an image is not available or when a visitor wants the text alternative. But not all links are text; some are images. An alternative alt attribute value would be "The Danish flag". It never changed. title, text . Its primary role is to explain to programs like Chrome how to arrange design elements like images and text on a webpage. Tell visitors where linked images go. It is supposed to contain replacement text that could be used by users instead of the image; it is not meant to supplement the image. As soon as the alt attribute is filled in I get a green light for that SEO item. The element can be more easily edited or translated than the @alt attribute.. Here is an example of an image tag using the alt attribute. ). To use, go to Tools > Alt Text Tools, and click the button. a href, address . In visual browsers such as Firefox, the ALT text is displayed whe… Optimizing your images could bring you a greater slice of this traffic. Technically, “alt tags” don’t exist even though they are used to commonly refer to alt attributes and/or alt text. Give it a few moments to scan your site, and your download should begin. For example, let’s say that we have a heading tag that reads “About Us”. If the alt attribute is purposefully left off because the image has no textual equivalent, consider alternate methods for presenting the content the image is trying to communicate. required Functional images Often images will be wrapped in a anchor link element () or a