Is Your Web Content Accessible? - Provide a Good Description

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For some reason search bots just can't seem to crawl anything but text. In the same way, for example, a blind person can't see any of the images being displayed on a web page and a deaf person can't hear the sound coming from content with audio. Thankfully, all seem to understand words and their meanings, whether they are read, heard, or felt (Braille). So one of the first things a developer needs to do when optimizing a web page for search is make sure there is plenty of readable text. In fact, the first guideline mentioned in WCAG 1.0 is "Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content."

When dealing with images that are an integral part of the page content, definitely include descriptive alternative text and titles. Alt text is alternative information that clearly describes the image when it can't be seen or displayed. An image title acts like a title (go figure!) and should advise the user about the element's function. By the way, alt text is crucial for search crawlers. Last year, Google said it mainly uses alt text to determine what an image is.

Some pointers:

• For an image of text, the alt text should say exactly what the image says.

  • When the typography or format of the text is what's important, be sure to explain that in the alt text.

• Use CSS to make images of list bullets.

• Do not use alt text for images that are not integral to the page's content.

If your page has audio or video recordings consisting mainly of speech or dialog, then you should provide a complete written transcript. This is the best way to get search crawlers to understand the content of your page. It can also provide more content to a page that is lacking. However, remember that a transcript is not a substitute for captioning. Also make sure that you provide an audio description for video that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack.

* A summary should also be provided for tables and charts, especially when they rely mainly on visual content (e.g. Line and bar graphs).

Next: Links, Headers, and Scripts >>
 

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