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Context is the most critical aspect of alt-text everyone seems to miss

This is the article I SWORE I would never write. But I have a different perspective on alt-text than most accessibility managers, so I decided to share it.

Sheri Byrne-Haber, CPACC
UX Collective

Jack Russell terrier in sunglasses in a hammock on a beach

Authors note: Because of Medium’s refusal to address its accessibility issues for both authors and readers, I’ve moved my last three years of blogs to Substack. Please sign up there for notices of all new articles. Also, I will be updating older articles (like this one) and the updates will only be published on Substack. Thank you for your continued readership and support.

Twenty-two months ago, when I started this blog, I swore I would never write an article about alt-text or headings because I thought those topics had been written about to death. However, every article I read on these two topics (yes, I read other people’s accessibility articles) leaves out part of the story that *I* think is incredibly important. So here we go, Sheri’s take on alt-text. Sheri’s take on headings is will come in a couple of weeks.

What is an appropriate description for this image?

The two most popular explanations for alt-text are as follows:

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Responses (1)

What are your thoughts?

Such great info!! Going to apply these tips to my website right now. Thanks a lot! <3

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