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Re: How to write alt-text when the image doesn't match text.

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From: Mark Magennis
Date: Nov 30, 2018 8:47AM

I agree with Dan that this is an error that you should alert your content team to, but I'd also ask you to check whether your text is appropriate.

Leaving aside the fact that what is written in the text is wrong, if it is already written in the text, you do not have to repeat it in alt text, so your alt text should be null, e.g. alt="" if it is an <img>.

However, the purpose of alt text is not to describe an object, it is to present the information that the object gives to sighted users. The line "The map shows three regions of temperate rain forest located along the West Coast of the United States" is a description, but it doesn't necessarily give any information or the information that the image was intended to convey. The appropriate alt text may well be something like: "Temperate rain forest regions on the West Coast are located mainly in Oregon and Washington but extend slightly north into British Columbia and South into California". If this is the information that the image is intended to convey (and if that isn't already written in the text). It is impossible to say without seeing the image and its context.

Mark

Mark Magennis
Skillsoft | mobile: +353 87 60 60 162
Accessibility Specialist