Q and A: Is there a practical word limit for alt image text?
Dear Kalena...
Is there a limit to how many words are practical within alt image text? I'm not talking about stuffing it with junk but having a text of maybe 5-7 words.
David
Kalena's Answer:
Dear David
There is no hard and fast rule about this, but I would recommend no more than say 3 or 4 words. The text should also be an accurate description of the image itself, not just a bunch of unrelated keywords. This is to ensure it passes spam filters and also makes sense to visually impaired visitors. I would also avoid using more than 2 or 3 alt tags on a single page if you can help it.
Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit
Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines
Is there a limit to how many words are practical within alt image text? I'm not talking about stuffing it with junk but having a text of maybe 5-7 words.
David
Kalena's Answer:
Dear David
There is no hard and fast rule about this, but I would recommend no more than say 3 or 4 words. The text should also be an accurate description of the image itself, not just a bunch of unrelated keywords. This is to ensure it passes spam filters and also makes sense to visually impaired visitors. I would also avoid using more than 2 or 3 alt tags on a single page if you can help it.
Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit
Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines
Labels: alt img tags
3 Comments:
"I would also avoid using more than 2 or 3 alt tags on a single page if you can help it."
Does this mean you should limit each page to 2 or 3 images? The reason for the question is that from an accessibility point of view you should alt tag all your images on the page.
No, of course not. I was talking more about limiting your use of alt tags that contain keywords. Not every image on your site requires an alt tag for accessibility purposes - design elements and spacer gifs, for example. If you have a lot of product images that require alt descriptions, then go for it, but make sure your alt tags contain different keywords for each image or you might trip spam filters.
Oh, ok. Thanks for the clarification . Great blog by the way!
Post a Comment
<< Home