{"id":2221,"date":"2021-12-16T03:02:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T08:02:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/digital.hec.ca\/en\/?p=2221"},"modified":"2023-03-28T21:51:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T01:51:50","slug":"why-is-alt-text-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digital.hec.ca\/en\/blog\/why-is-alt-text-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Alt text important?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I assume that you know what is an \u201calt text\u201d, but just in case you don\u2019t know, let us clear this first: alt text is a very short description that programmers type in the HTML that describes the image. The web browser understands that the website wants to place an image because in the HTML code there is an <\/span>image tag<\/span><\/i> that has mainly two <\/span>attributes<\/span><\/i>: the alt text and where the image is placed on the internet). The alt text is put as an <\/span>attribute <\/span><\/i>in the image tag of a website. Also, it allows search engines to understand what content is in your website so it can show it to people who are looking for specific images.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, why is alt text important?<\/span><\/h3>\n

The alt text (a.k.a. alternate text and alt code) is displayed in the case that the image couldn\u2019t be shown (e.g. the image route was wrong). But, most importantly, it serves as aid to the visually impaired. When the screen reader goes through the website, it can describe the image that appears by reading the alt code. If it weren’t there, the screen reader can\u2019t know what appears on the image.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take this, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"hec<\/p>\n

Here, whoever was in charge of the HEC website (https:\/\/www.hec.ca<\/a>), didn\u2019t put an alternative text for the images on the homepage. In this case, the image route was incorrect (I changed it) and it can be seen that the browser shows a tiny light blue box with a question mark. If it were to have an alternative text, it would appear on the side of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some content management systems show you a warning when you upload an image that \u201calternative text is not found\u201d. It\u2019s not mandatory, but it is useful if you want to have better SEO and rank higher on search engines.<\/span><\/p>\n

In conclusion, having an alternative text is going to:<\/span><\/p>\n