Worked Example: Writing Alt Text by Image Job
Apply the alt decision tree to produce context-appropriate text alternatives.
A single page mixes decorative, functional, and informative images, but every one of them currently has generic descriptive alt text. Classify the image job first, then write only the text that preserves that job. The common trap is describing how the image looks instead of preserving what the user needs from it in context. Step 1 Ask what the image is doing on this page: decoration, function, information, or complex explanation. Purpose comes before wording. The same photo might be decorative in one place and informative in another. Step 2 If the image is decorative, use empty alt; if it…
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