Use Alternate Text for Graphics

Every image on your web site should have a text alternative. These should be worded in such a way that people using a text browser can get all the important information presented on your page, without knowing that there are graphics they cannot see. The best way to support this is to always use the "alt=" option to the <img ...> tag to provide alternate text describing the image.

If the image is purely decorative and not important, then use 'alt=""' to disable any default placeholder text like "[INLINE]".
If the image is used as a dividing bar then try something like 'alt="_________________________________________"' to make a similar dividing bar in the text version if desired.
Make the alternate text for images meaningful. Saying "Picture of University Logo" is not useful. Instead, if the logo is part of the title, use the text "University of Saskatchewan" so it reads well as part of the title.
Check your web pages with the "lynx" web browser (or at least with images turned off on your web browser). Check that the "alt=" descriptions read well with the rest of the text. If the text version of the web page doesn't read well on its own, then you may have to change the wording of the "alt=" options so it works well.
Here's a trick to display text only for browsers that cannot display images. Use "alt=" text with a one-dot by one-dot transparent .gif image (such as http://www.usask.ca/images/null.gif). Browsers that can show graphics show an invisible picture nobody sees. Browsers that cannot show graphics shows the alternate text. For example:
```
     <img src="http://www.usask.ca/images/null.gif" alt="your text here">
```

Please send comments about this course to Kevin.Lowey@Usask.CA