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Re: Inline Images and ALT text

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Jan 13, 2009 2:30PM

On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 2:09 PM, Janet Sylvia < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> Is there a standard for embedding images in paragraphs? For instance, only embed images before/after sentences, with contextual clues, etc.

If the image is being used inline in the middle of a sentence, the
content of that image should be provided in alt text and should make
perfect sense inline. I can't think of a case where an in-sentence
image would have alternative text that is out of the context of that
sentence - even if it is positioned elsewhere (floated, etc.).

For floated images, I typically place the image at the place that it
makes the most sense in context - typically at the beginning of the
section it is floated by - and then use CSS to position it where it
needs to go, if necessary. Of note, I find that *most* floated images
are either decorative to the content itself or the content of the
floated image is presented in the text - they *usually* should be
given null alt text.

> Also, if the image is described in the adjacent text, would the ALT text for the image be null?

Typically, yes. See http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/ for several examples.

> Has this situation been considered by other organizations and what would be the solution to accommodate both visual and aural design?"

I think standard HTML and CSS give enough flexibility to maintain the
visual design while keeping the aural flow logical and accessible.

Jared Smith
WebAIM.org