{"id":21422,"date":"2026-10-21T15:54:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T21:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/?p=21422"},"modified":"2026-10-21T15:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T21:54:50","slug":"accessibility-tip-make-images-meaningful-with-alt-text","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/2026\/10\/21\/accessibility-tip-make-images-meaningful-with-alt-text\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility Tip: Make Images Meaningful with Alt Text"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW223131718 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW223131718 BCX0\">Alt text helps people who cannot see an image understand its meaning. A useful description shares the information that matters in context, rather than every visible detail.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/2026\/10\/21\/accessibility-tip-make-images-meaningful-with-alt-text\/picture1-5\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-21423\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21423\" src=\"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/files\/Picture1-3.png\" alt=\"Infographic titled \u201cAccessibility Tip: Use Alt Text for Images\u201d explains how concise, meaningful descriptions improve access and understanding for people using screen readers. Sections compare good and poor alt text, present informative, decorative, functional, and complex image examples, and use blue, green, purple, and yellow panels with labels, icons, and a quick-tip banner.\" width=\"480\" height=\"536\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Graphic concept and direction by Rosanna Miiller Salas. Created with OpenAI image generation tools using custom prompts.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Infographic recap:<\/span><\/b> <span data-contrast=\"none\">Give informative images meaningful descriptions, mark purely decorative images as decorative, describe the action of functional images, and explain complex images in the surrounding text.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Why?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Alt text gives screen reader users access to information communicated visually. It also helps make course materials easier to understand when images cannot be seen.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Do:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Describe the image\u2019s essential message in its learning context. For charts and diagrams, provide the important data or relationships in nearby text. Mark purely decorative images as decorative.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Avoid:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Avoid vague labels such as \u201cimage\u201d or \u201cpicture of a building.\u201d Do not repeat adjacent text or describe visual details that do not support the message.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Try it this week!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Choose one meaningful image in a document or Canvas page. Ask what a student would miss without seeing it, then write or revise its alt text.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Let\u2019s Connect!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Interested in exploring digital accessibility, have questions, or want to discuss your ideas? I\u2019m here to help! Reach out to learn more or schedule a consultation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Contact sehdhelp@ucdenver.edu with your accessibility request or directly Rosanna Miiller Salas at: rosanna.miillersalas@ucdenver.edu<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Small changes can create more inclusive digital experiences for everyone.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alt text helps people who cannot see an image understand its meaning. A useful description shares the information that matters in context, rather than every visible detail. Graphic concept and direction by Rosanna Miiller Salas. Created with OpenAI image generation tools using custom prompts.\u00a0 Infographic recap: Give informative images meaningful descriptions, mark purely decorative images [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-of-interest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21422"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21426,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21422\/revisions\/21426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}