Dear Swarna, It's neither a software nor any other program. It's a piece of code that a web developer need to incorporate on web pages to convey the description of the images.
Best, -Srinivasu On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 11:02 AM, Swarna Lakshmi <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi Srini, > > As I joined the discussion late I just have an idea about Alt Text. > > I just wanted to know that is it a software to be installed or a > program to be written and compiled? > > I am sorry if I have asked you anything wrong. > > Regards, > Swarna. > > On 8/24/12, Suman Damera <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks Srini for such a detailed explanation about the significance of > > alt text in web pages! > > > > On 8/23/12, Srinivasu Chakravarthula <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Taken from a blog post > >> > >> Alt text (or text alternatives) are words that show up in place of an > >> image, when that image can’t be loaded. Images are sometimes turned off > >> by > >> users with slow internet connections and blind users often use screen > >> reader software that reads the alt text aloud when it reaches the image. > >> The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 demand alt text for > >> images in most cases. > >> > >> The text is meant as a replacement for the image – not in addition to > it. > >> This means the text should describe the image and give the same > >> information > >> as the image would if seen. This isn’t always easy and people don’t > >> always > >> agree on what the ‘same’ information is. The best bet is to be honest > >> with > >> yourself – what does the picture convey? > >> > >> If the image is your company logo, your company name is a good bet. If > >> the > >> image is of text, replicate the text exactly. For all other images, > >> describe the image helpfully and succinctly – we don’t need to know it’s > >> a > >> picture of 17,387 trees if ‘forest’ would do. > >> > >> Whatever you do, don’t see alt text as a great resource for keyword > >> stuffing. Adding out-of-context keywords as alt text is terrible for > >> accessibility, does not meet WCAG 2.0 guidelines and has minimal to no > >> search engine optimisation benefits. > >> What to do > >> > >> - Add alt text to all of your images > >> - Add a name to all of your buttons (such as ‘Search’ or ‘Submit’) > >> > >> How to do it > >> > >> If you’re using a good quality content management system, you will be > >> able > >> to add alt text with very little effort. For example, WordPress allows > >> you > >> to edit the alt text of all images that you insert into posts and pages. > >> If > >> you’ve got something a little more bespoke, here is some information and > >> code that will help: > >> > >> An image on a website has two essential elements, its source and its > >> alternative. The source is the location of the image and the alternative > >> is > >> what I’ve just been talking about. > >> ? <http://www.wuhcag.com/alt-text/?goback=.gde_53511_member_150908160#> > >> 1 > >> <img src="filename.jpg" alt="insert alt text" /> > >> > >> Here’s how a form might look like with names added. > >> ? <http://www.wuhcag.com/alt-text/?goback=.gde_53511_member_150908160#> > >> 1 > >> 2 > >> 3 > >> 4 > >> 5 > >> 6 > >> 7 > >> <form> > >> <label for="option1">Option One</label> > >> <input id="option1" type="radio" name="type" /> > >> < /br> > >> <label for="option2">Option Two,</label> > >> <input id="option2" type="radio" name="type" /> > >> </form> > >> Auditing alt text > >> > >> Alt text is relatively simple to audit and easy to fix, making this a > >> quick-win WCAG 2.0 guideline. One of the best ways is to add the WAVE > >> toolbar <http://wave.webaim.org/toolbar/> to Firefox and check a page. > As > >> most sites have a standard template, you can catch your biggest issues > >> with > >> one sweep. Banners, sidebar images and footers only need fixing once to > >> improve every page on your site. After that, you’ll need to do > >> page-by-page > >> checking. > >> > >> If you want a more in-depth and hands-off solution, you can request an > >> accessibility audit <http://www.wuhcag.com/contact/> of your whole > >> website > >> for alt text and other issues. > >> One more thing > >> [image: Forest] > >> > >> Photo credit <http://www.flickr.com/photos/view_camper/3179689934/> > >> > >> There are a few types of image that don’t need alt text: spacers, icons, > >> purely decorative, tests and CAPTCHA images. > >> > >> Icons are usually used to complement text not replace it, so there’s no > >> need to duplicate your efforts here. Users with screen readers would > just > >> hear the same thing twice anyway – which is the opposite of what we’re > >> trying to do. > >> > >> Spacers are images used for padding, often for ease and not good coding. > >> They are used to preserve formatting and present no information so don’t > >> need alt text. > >> > >> Decorative images are ones used just because they look nice, they have > no > >> information or use other than aesthetics. > >> > >> Tests and CAPTCHAs would be undermined by text alternatives so you don’t > >> need them – although if you do use CAPTCHA, use one with an audio > >> alternative or add contact details to help blind users. > >> > >> In all theses cases, use what is called ‘null’ alt text by simply > leaving > >> the alt text out – but do put the quotes in: > >> ? <http://www.wuhcag.com/alt-text/?goback=.gde_53511_member_150908160#> > >> 1 > >> <img src="location-of-image.jpg" alt="" /> > >> > >> Screen readers will then skip the image rather than reading the filename > >> or > >> trying to substitute an alt text. > >> > >> That’s all there is to alt text! Is there anything you’d like to add or > >> any > >> questions you have? Leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to respond. > >> Don’t forget, you can now buy the > >> book<http://www.wuhcag.com/shop/how-to-meet-the-wcag/>and learn about > >> all the web accessibility guidelines at once! > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Regards, > >> > >> Srinivasu Chakravarthula - Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/VasuTweets > >> Website: http://www.srinivasu.org | http://www.learnaccessibility.org > >> > >> Let's create an inclusive web! > >> > >> Search for old postings at: > >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >> > >> To unsubscribe send a message to > >> [email protected] > >> with the subject unsubscribe. > >> > >> To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > >> please > >> visit the list home page at > >> > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > >> > >> > > > > > > -- > > suman > > > > > > Search for old postings at: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > > > To unsubscribe send a message to > > [email protected] > > with the subject unsubscribe. > > > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please > > visit the list home page at > > > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > > > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > -- Regards, Srinivasu Chakravarthula - Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/VasuTweets Website: http://www.srinivasu.org | http://www.learnaccessibility.org Let's create an inclusive web! 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