Alternative text describes the content and purpose of images, charts, and graphs. Add alt text to every meaningful image in your Canvas course.
Impact
Alt text makes visual information accessible to people with visual impairments and provides essential context if images fail to load due to slow internet connections.
How To
- Be concise and meaningful.
- Explain the purpose of the image in the context of the page.
- Mark purely decorative images as “decorative.”
Charts and Graphs
- Summarize key findings.
- Use body text or linked documents for more complex explanations.
Things to Avoid
- Phrases like “image of”—screen readers announce images automatically.
- Describing appearance instead of meaning.
- Overly long descriptions.
- Using filenames as alt text.
- Duplicating information already in the surrounding text.