Comments on: Using Alt Text On Images http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/ Artist & curator Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:20:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Samantha http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-3529 Samantha Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:45:32 +0000 http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-3529 I still don't really get it. I think it'll be better if you put the code and let us see it. I learn html by looking at other codes. So, do you think you can put the code onto this page? I still don’t really get it. I think it’ll be better if you put the code and let us see it. I learn html by looking at other codes. So, do you think you can put the code onto this page?

]]> By: Kirsty http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-93 Kirsty Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:31:35 +0000 http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-93 Hi Michelle, I'm glad it helped. Hi Michelle, I’m glad it helped.

]]> By: Michelle http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-86 Michelle Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:44:17 +0000 http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-86 Hi Kirsty, Thanks so much for this post! I've added tag-making to the ever-growing to-do list. Now I think I can actually complete it. Hi Kirsty,
Thanks so much for this post! I’ve added tag-making to the ever-growing to-do list. Now I think I can actually complete it.

]]> By: Kirsty http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-76 Kirsty Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:33:19 +0000 http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-76 I'm glad to be able to help, redredday. I’m glad to be able to help, redredday.

]]> By: redredday http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-72 redredday Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:12:36 +0000 http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-72 Kirsty, you are just so cool. i do some web designing and totally forgot about including the alt text on the images until you mentioned it. so thanks for sharing this. and thank you, Gyrus for the additional pointers. Kirsty, you are just so cool. i do some web designing and totally forgot about including the alt text on the images until you mentioned it. so thanks for sharing this. and thank you, Gyrus for the additional pointers.

]]> By: Gyrus http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-71 Gyrus Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:46:41 +0000 http://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2007/08/more-on-alt-tags/#comment-71 A few comments from the resident techie :) - Some people might get confused by the phrase "alt tags". If anyone's learned basic HTML, they know a tag is something like <p> or <img />. The extra bits in the tags (like "alt" and "src" in <img src="photo.jpg" alt="my photo" />) are technically called "attributes". A little formal - for informal, "alt text" is probably coolest. - Oooh, how did I include that HTML without it trying to just show an image?! Just replace each "<" and ">" with "&lt;" and "&gt;" respectively. "lt" and "gt" stand for "less than" and "greater than", so you can see some sense to it - but anyway, it works :-) - Sometimes you might not get the alt text come up when you hover the mouse over an image (it doesn't come up on Firefox, for instance). Properly, the alt attribute value is "alternative" text, i.e. to use if you can't see the image (either it's a text browser, images are turned off, or it's a speech browser reading the text out). That little "tooltip" that pops up, if it's there at all, is technically supposed to come from a "title" attribute on the img tag. The title is optional, though. Just thought I'd mention this in case anyone gets confused on Firefox with the alt text not popping up when you mouse over it. - As you mention, in software like WordPress, fields marked "title" or "description" are often the text that ends up as the alt text. A little confusing, but probably fair enough, as it all works out for people who haven't heard of alt text (and might be more confused by having a field there labelled "alt"). - It's important to remember the other main reason for alt text besides search indexing: accessibility. As mentioned above, blind web users might be using a speech browser, and while of course they'll sadly never be able to fully appreciate purely visual art, it's nice to give them at least a basic idea of what they're missing. Alt text does this. Imagine when writing alt text that you're describing the image to someone who can't see it - because for some people, that's exactly the case. (For the more accomodating and adventurous, there's even a "longdesc" attribute for the img tag that can give the URL of a page that described the image in depth - though it's rarely used except on very accessibility-conscious sites.) - Note that making your site good for Google and good for impaired users amounts to the same thing. Good content + good code practices = good search rankings + good accessibility :-) A few comments from the resident techie :)

- Some people might get confused by the phrase “alt tags”. If anyone’s learned basic HTML, they know a tag is something like <p> or <img />. The extra bits in the tags (like “alt” and “src” in <img src=”photo.jpg” alt=”my photo” />) are technically called “attributes”. A little formal - for informal, “alt text” is probably coolest.

- Oooh, how did I include that HTML without it trying to just show an image?! Just replace each “<” and “>” with “&lt;” and “&gt;” respectively. “lt” and “gt” stand for “less than” and “greater than”, so you can see some sense to it - but anyway, it works :-)

- Sometimes you might not get the alt text come up when you hover the mouse over an image (it doesn’t come up on Firefox, for instance). Properly, the alt attribute value is “alternative” text, i.e. to use if you can’t see the image (either it’s a text browser, images are turned off, or it’s a speech browser reading the text out). That little “tooltip” that pops up, if it’s there at all, is technically supposed to come from a “title” attribute on the img tag. The title is optional, though. Just thought I’d mention this in case anyone gets confused on Firefox with the alt text not popping up when you mouse over it.

- As you mention, in software like WordPress, fields marked “title” or “description” are often the text that ends up as the alt text. A little confusing, but probably fair enough, as it all works out for people who haven’t heard of alt text (and might be more confused by having a field there labelled “alt”).

- It’s important to remember the other main reason for alt text besides search indexing: accessibility. As mentioned above, blind web users might be using a speech browser, and while of course they’ll sadly never be able to fully appreciate purely visual art, it’s nice to give them at least a basic idea of what they’re missing. Alt text does this. Imagine when writing alt text that you’re describing the image to someone who can’t see it - because for some people, that’s exactly the case. (For the more accomodating and adventurous, there’s even a “longdesc” attribute for the img tag that can give the URL of a page that described the image in depth - though it’s rarely used except on very accessibility-conscious sites.)

- Note that making your site good for Google and good for impaired users amounts to the same thing. Good content + good code practices = good search rankings + good accessibility :-)

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