[DRAFT] Tips and Frequently asked questions

Feedback on this page is welcom, if you have a question about images that isn't answered by this tutorial, you can send it to wai-eo-editors@w3.org.

Tips

• Logos: Images of text that are used as corporate logos are exempt from some of the accessibility guidance that applies to other images of text, for instance there is no minimum color contrast requirement and no suggestion that styling should be used instead of an image of text..

FAQ

• I've been told to remove the alt from most of the images in my template, is that right?
  No that's incorrect, the alt is a required attribute. If the images are part of the page design, and don't convey information, you can remove any text values, leaving just the quotes (alt="").
  
• I can't remember if a description is not needed, should the alt be a space or null (empty)?
  It should be null or empty (alt=""). Putting a space between the quotes doesn't effectively hide the image from assistive technologies.
  
• My CMS system puts in a default alt of "image of", can I just add to that?
  It will depend on the function of the image, but default values may result in inappropriate alternative text. Normally there's no need to include words like "image", "icon" or "picture" in the alt text, people who can see will know this already and screen readers announce the presence of an image. There's a good case for including text that describes the type of image if it is a painting, photograph or illustration, but it's probably best to avoid the more generic terms.
• How long can the alt text be, is it up to 90 words?
  It isn't an exact science,but the alt text should be the briefest, most concise description of the image's purpose as possible. If anything more than a short phrase or sentence is needed, it would be better to use one of the long description methods discussed on the complex images page.