Alt Text for Images

Include alt text for all graphics and digital images. Use a long description for charts and graphs to provide a more detailed explanation. Follow the guidelines below when writing alt texts or long descriptions:

  • Offer a brief description of the graphic or digital image and what is important about it
  • Do not begin alt text with "Picture of," "Image of," "Graphic of," or "Photo of"
    • Correct: Children playing
    • Incorrect: Picture of children playing
  • Begin with a capital letter
  • Do not put a period at the end unless it is a sentence
  • Explain charts and graphs in full
    Long description example:
    This bar graph, entitled "Reading to Children," has a horizontal axis which reads: Frequency of Parental Reading, and a vertical axis which reads: PPVT Average Standard Score. When a parent reads not at all or one to two times a week, the PPVT Average Standard Score was 84. When a parent reads three to six times a week, the PPVT Average Standard Score was 87. When a parent reads every day, the PPVT Average Standard Score was 90.