Alternate Image Text
When users have their images turned off or are using screen readers, the alternate image text, or “alt text,” can come in handy. Alt text can be found in the “alt” attribute of the image tag and is used to describe or name the image.
< img src="/images/logo_main.jpg" width="401" height="130" alt="EMP E-Marketing Performance, Search Marketing Information to Render Your Competition Powerless!" border="0" / >
Many web users on dial-up connections turn images off to speed up page loading times. In these cases the alt text will be visible in the place of the image itself. Also note that the alt text is audibly read to disabled users who use screen readers.
You want to be sure to use alt text conservatively and properly for each image. Don’t use alt text just to stuff additional keywords into your page, but only to properly describe what the image visually conveys to the viewer.
Search for all posts in this series on Constructing Effective Web Pages, or follow the links to previous posts.
Introduction
Web Languages
Page Title
Page Description
Page Keywords
Paragraph Headings
Body Content
Images