Images

General Rules for Accessible Images

• Meaningful images should have alternative text (alt text).  This is information about the image that is used by assistive technologies like screen readers and will also become visible if an image cannot load.
• The alt text should be concise (typically 180 characters or less) and convey the meaning of the image.
• Decorative images should be marked as decorative images.
• Provide alt text for complex images, graphs or charts in another way on the page.  Ideally as a caption under the image/graph/chart or within a paragraph on the page and make the alt text of the image the image’s name.
• Do not use color as the only way to represent information in an image.
• Use real text instead of images of text.
• Avoid using images that flash more than 3 times per second.

More Resources:

• WebAIM: Alternative Text
• WebAIM: Accessible Images