How To Find Alt Text Of An Image

How to Find Alt Text of an Image: An Intermediate User Guide

Alt text, short for alternative text, is a brief description or label that can be added to an image in web pages, documents, and other digital content. Alt text helps people with visual impairments to understand the content of the image, and it also improves the accessibility and searchability of the content for all users. In this guide, we will explore different ways to find alt text of an image on different platforms and tools.

Using Browser Developer Tools to Find Alt Text of an Image

One of the easiest ways to find alt text of an image is by using the browser developer tools, which are built-in tools that allow developers and advanced users to inspect and manipulate web pages. Most modern browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge have developer tools that can be accessed by pressing F12 or right-clicking and selecting Inspect Element from the context menu.

Once you open the developer tools, you can hover over the image with your cursor and right-click to select Inspect or Inspect Element. This will open the Element Inspector panel where you can see the HTML code that defines the image and its alt attribute. The alt attribute is usually located inside the tag and contains the alt text of the image. If the alt attribute is missing or empty, the screen reader will read the file name of the image, which may not provide any useful information to the user.

Using Online Accessibility Checkers to Find Alt Text of an Image

Another way to find alt text of an image is by using online accessibility checkers, which are web-based tools that analyze the accessibility of web pages and provide feedback on how to improve them. One of the most popular accessibility checkers is the WAVE tool, which was developed by WebAIM and is available for free at wave.webaim.org.

To use the WAVE tool, you simply need to enter the URL of the web page that contains the image you want to check and click the Analyze button. The tool will scan the page and highlight any accessibility issues, including missing or incorrect alt text. You can then click on the highlighted image to see its alt attribute and edit it if necessary. The WAVE tool also provides detailed reports and recommendations on how to fix accessibility issues, making it a valuable resource for web developers and content creators.

In conclusion, finding alt text of an image is an important aspect of web accessibility and can benefit a wide range of users, including those with visual impairments or slow internet connections. By using browser developer tools or online accessibility checkers, you can easily check if your images have proper alt text and improve the accessibility and usability of your content.