2 · Content Description and Text Alternatives
Informative images need to have what is commonly known as an 'alt-tag' or text alternative, so that a screen reader user can hear an image description. Some screen readers will read the file name or some say 'image' if the attribute is omitted. The alt-tag should be appropriate for the content and succinct. Text should be accessible for text-to-speech tools and screen-readers but decorative images should be hidden from assistive technologies.
Outcomes and Scores
This test has 5 possible outcomes.
| Outcome | Score |
|---|---|
| Acceptable alternative text throughout and use of empty or null alt attributes (e.g., alt="") that AT can ignore. Complex images have links to appropriate long descriptions or captions | 100% |
| Alternative text offered but examples lack brevity or clarity e.g. image of duck. | 67% |
| Inadequate/sparse alternative text even to actual website images not just those added by users. Inappropriate use of null alt attributes (e.g., alt=""). | 33% |
| None, detrimental to understanding of content. No option to add alt-tag if uploading image to web pages. Lack of use of null alt attributes (e.g., alt=""). Accessible name does not contain the visible label text for User Interface components with labels. | 0% |
| Not applicable | N/A |
Disabilities
The results of this test are taken into account when calculating accessibility scores for the following disabilities.
Techniques
The following techniques may come in handy when running this test.