Alternative text (alt text) provides a written description of content for visually impaired users who may use a screen reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding alt text for images is a foundational principle of web accessibility. It can be challenging to implement alt text correctly and in a way that most benefits end users. The web is fraught with images that have missing, incorrect, or poor alt text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many things in web accessibility, determining appropriate, equivalent, alt text can often be a matter of personal interpretation. It is our hope that we can provide guidelines for when alt text is needed, and also how you can easily implement it in WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note:<\/strong> though alt text is most commonly used with images, there are other non-text web media and interactive features where the same principles covered here could be applied. This said, within the context of our web ecosystem, content maintainers will almost always only be concerned with providing alt text for files uploaded to the WordPress media library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The basic premise of using alt text is to ensure that all users can read the same information and have the same interactions with a web page, regardless of whether or not they can see the images. Many non-visual users utilize screen reading software, where the description of an image is read to the user in place of the image. Computers and screen readers cannot analyze an image and determine what the image is on their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As content maintainers we must provide alt text which then gives the content<\/strong> and function<\/strong> of the image to a user. These users can then enjoy the same web experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAlternative Text Serves Several Functions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Key Principle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Guiding Principles<\/h3>\n\n\n