alt text

American  

[awlt tekst] / ˈɔlt ˈtɛkst /

noun

Digital Technology.

1. a written description of an image or other nontext content, included as an attribute in HTML code and rendered as text in place of the image or other element if it does not load on the web page or read by screen reader software at the point in the page sequence where the nontext element appears.

   If there’s no alt text for an image, a screen reader will read the filename—even if it’s just a string of numbers and letters.

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Etymology

Origin of alt text

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

The funniest part about posting it was deciding the alt text for the image.

From Slate

They have sought to imbue the app with social norms, like encouraging users to post alt text with their pictures so that blind users can engage with them.

From Slate

“Threads was shipped without basic accessibility functions like an alt text field or an in-app captioning tool,” said Alexa Heinrich on Twitter.

From Los Angeles Times

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been criticised for misusing alt text on social media - weeks after big brands were called out for doing it.

From BBC

Just two weeks ago, companies like McDonald's were criticised for posting the "click here" meme, which used alt text to hide jokes.

From BBC