“Unlock the Power of Visual Accessibility: Mastering Alt Text Writing on WordPress in 5 Easy Steps!”
The Importance of Alt Text for Website Accessibility
Alt text is a must-have element for website accessibility. It serves as a description of the image that would appear on the website, but more than that, it helps those who have difficulty in seeing, especially those who use a screen reader or similar devices, to understand the visuals. Websites that lack concise and accurate alt text might seem blank to visually impaired users, making their visit uninformative and challenging to navigate.
WordPress and Alt Text
One of the most widely used content management systems, WordPress, has streamlined alt text integration. This article will explore the what, why, and how of alt text in WordPress and best practices for its use.
Why Alt Text Is Crucial
The main reasons why alt text is essential are:
- Accessibility – Alt text allows visually impaired users to understand the images on your website.
- SEO – By including descriptive alt text, search engines can understand the context of the images better, and they can appear in relevant image searches.
- Usability – Alt text enables users on slow connections or those who do not load images to comprehend the image’s purpose and context, providing an improved user experience.
How to Write Alt Text in WordPress
There are two ways to add alt text to images in WordPress:
- Adding Alt Text in Media Library – Select the image you want to add to the library, click Add New, then fill in the fields Title, Caption, and Alt Text for optimal alt text effectiveness.
- Editing Alt Text in the WordPress Editor – After inserting the image, select it, click on “Edit,” fill out the Alt Text field with a concise, relevant, and descriptive text, and click on “Update” to save.
Best Practices for Alt Text Writing
The following practices can help create effective alt text:
- Be concise: Only include essential information in the alt text, avoiding excessive and redundant wording.
- Be descriptive: Inform users about the image details by describing the context and the purpose.
- Use relevant keywords: Incorporate relevant keywords in the alt text while avoiding stuffing them in randomly.
- Avoid redundancy: Do not restate information that is already conveyed in the surrounding text.
- Don’t stuff alt text with keywords: Overusing keywords in alt text is terrible practice and may lead to search engine penalties.
Remember, creating helpful alt text is essential for SEO, usability, and making your website accessible to everyone.
