The alt attribute, or alternative attribute or alt text or alt tag, was designed to provide a text description of an image if the image cannot be rendered. For the input element, the alt attribute is intended to replace the picture of the submit button. It would be better to have the screen reader ignore it completely. Alt&Title did give me the option to ignore certain images that would not require a title attribute (or even an alt attribute), i.e. Alt text helps webpages rank in Web Search Alt attributes offer a text-based alternative for translating images, and more specifically for incorporating relevant keywords. The "alt" attribute (often erroneously referred to as "alt tag") is an HTML attribute of the IMG tag. Alt attribute text is also used by screen readers to convey information while image titles cannot be displayed by screen readers. It helps display text in case an image cannot be rendered by the browser. Besides, if you add an appropriate alt attribute, search engines will show it in image search. You can't blame young developers for not knowing this or any other accessibility related topic -- accessibility (and usability for that matter) aren't topics taught at most universities. The following is a screenshot from Google Image search for the keyword ‘watches for men’. Google gives positive ratings to websites that cover a subject to the fullest extent. In fact, it is part of the HTML coding standard. Why is the alt attribute important? Alt attributes were designed for users of screen readers. ). This description appears if, for some reason, the image cannot be displayed. Alt text uses: 1. Though it might seem natural to assume that alternate text is a label or a description, it is not! Having alt text that reads “bath and candle” isn’t useful for visually-impaired readers because it’s information they don’t need to know. Image tag will have three attributes and they are src (image source), title (image title) and Alt (alternative text for image). ALT attributes refer to an alternative (ALT) text, which is inserted into the image files on a website to describe its content. It contains well written, well thought and well explained computer science and programming articles, quizzes and practice/competitive programming/company interview Questions. Thus, people looking for a specific image may find yours in search and visit your website. The alt attribute The alt attribute is an internet veteran, introduced in HTML 2 in 1995. Adding alternative text to photos is first and foremost a principle of web accessibility. In a recent tweet, Google’s John Muller said that “Pages can rank in web search for content found in image alt-attributes”. Visually impaired users using screen readers will be read an alt… 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. Since upgrading to 5.0.3, I can upload images to the Media Library, but when I try to insert images into new posts, a blank placeholder for the image shows up along with the cryptic message “this image has an empty alt attribute”. Title text or Title attribute (often incorrectly used as “Title tag”) is the text of images which a user sees after hovering over the image. Alt attributes, commonly referred to as alt text, are an essential element for an effective online presence. Another question. Alt Attributes Can’t Replace Text-Based Contents. ALT Attribute “ALT” simply standards for “alternative”, and ALT attributes are intended to be descriptions that can be seen instead of images, either before the image loads or if it does not load at all. Bobby says: Jan 30, 2016 at 9:22 am. Alt text, short for alternative text, is a small piece of text intended to describe an image, photograph, chart or any other picture on a website. A text equivalent brings the following benefits to your web site and its visitors in the following common situations: In a text-based browser that doesn’t display images, for example, visitors see the description, or Alternate text , telling them what image would be there if they could see it. Discussing how and why to add alt attributes onto images. Reply. These programs read content on a webpage aloud, and alt text found in the site’s HTML is the primary way of providing context to help someone understand the visual aspects of the page – even if they can’t see it. The alt text only appears in the source code of your website, as a line of HTML code also known as the alt attribute. The most common use of this attribute is in the img tag for the purpose of captioning graphics. Alt text uses: 1. Its purpose is providing an alternative text for the image in case the image were not downloaded, and to provide a text for screen readers used by visually impaired people. Alt text helps a webpage rank in Web Search Results. Code & tutorials: http://learn-the-web.algonquindesign.ca/topics/using-images/ When you add images in your Blogger posts, img src is defined, but what about the title and alt … Now if I add an image title it causes a the title to show if you hover over the image. Alt text (alternative text), also known as "alt attributes" describe the appearance and function of an image on a page. But, here’s an important point… If an image doesn’t require alt text, best practice is to add an empty alt attribute. Alt attributes are so important for non-sighted users that it’s worth taking the time to learn how to write them properly, by using the correct markup and making sure they are useful. A Computer Science portal for geeks. If the image cannot be displayed for any reason, the text of the inserted ALT attribute will appear. Alt text describes images to search engines and human visitors who can’t see them. Second, a missing alt is acceptable if the img element has a generator-unable-to-provide-required-alt attribute with an empty string value. The ALT attribute’s real purpose is to provide a description of the image for people who, for some reason or another, can’t actually see the image. a shim or a background image. It’s also important because it holds information for screen readers as well as for bots (SEO, you know? Textual descriptions that contain target keywords can increase your chances of ranking highly in image searches.