OU Campus & Alt Text
Learn how to add alt text to your images using different callout and content snippets in OU Campus.
How to Write Clear, Descriptive Alt Text
Most of the time, you will need to write alt text for each and every image you publish online. It's important that your alt text is clear and descriptive to effectively communicate the visual information in the image.
1. Examine the image closely.
Think about everything that's happening in the image. What visual information is it conveying? What information would you not have if you could not see this image?
2. Consider information implied by the image beyond the objective visuals.
Is the image implying a mood, feature, or activity not mentioned elsewhere on the screen where it will appear?
3. Don't begin with "Image of..."
A screen reader will tell the person listening to your alt text that this is an image. However, do mention if your visual is a particular type of image like an illustration, headshot, infographic, collage, etc.
4. Include any and all words in the image.
It's best to avoid using images with text embedded in them. However, if words are part of your visual, you must include all of them in your alt text. As you can probably imagine, the more words in your image, the longer your alt text will have to be.
5. Determine if the layout is communicating meaning.
For images like infographics, where the image's composition makes a difference in what's being communicated, you'll need to explain that layout and its meaning in your alt text.
Finding Images with Pre-Written Alt Text
Some royalty-free stock photo sites provide pre-written alt text. You will still need to check that the alt text is accurate and descriptive before using it.
Unsplash in particular does a good job providing ready-to-go alt text for images.
Example: Alt Text Steps in Action
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What would be the alt text for this image?
We used the steps on this page to write clear, descriptive alt text for a photo depicting one facet of student life at the University of South Carolina.
Adding Alt Text in Specific Platforms
The way you'll add alt text to your images will depend on the tool or platform you're using to publish digital content.
PDFs & Alt Text
If you're creating a PDF or exporting an existing document to PDF, you can follow these steps to check and add alt text for images.
Word, PowerPoint & Microsoft Documents Alt Text
It's often the best idea to handle alt text in the original document. Word provides help for adding alt text and marking images as decorative in all of their products.
Google Docs & Apps
Google offers easy steps for adding alt text to images within their apps.
Adobe InDesign & Alt Text
Adobe offers a good guide to marking images as decorative (and adding alternative text where necessary) in InDesign and their other products.
Social Media & Alt Text
Alt text is important for social media images too! Each platform has its own directions for adding alt text to images.