Alternative Text
: Digital Accessibility
: Texas State University
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Digital Accessibility
The Information Security Office
Digital Accessibility
Alternative Text
Importance for Accessibility
Alt text is a short description of an image. It helps users who can’t see the image understand its meaning.
Why It Matters
Screen readers read alt text aloud
Users may disable or not load images
Without alt text, image meaning is lost
How to Write Alt Text
Be clear, concise, and descriptive
Focus on the meaning of the image
Keep it short (around 125 characters)
Think: What does this image add?
Best Practices
Describe the important content only
Match the context of the page
Include text shown in the image (if relevant)
Use tools like the
W3C alt text decision tree
when unsure
Complex Images
In some cases, such as when using graph data or other complex imagery, a different type of alternative is required. Please visit our
Complex Images and Alternative Text using AI
page for more information.
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