Add alt text to your images
An image without a description is a blank space to anyone using a screen reader. Writing one takes twenty seconds.
The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
Most images posted publicly have no alternative text, which means blind and partially sighted users encounter a hole in the middle of the conversation. It is a genuinely solved problem — every platform has the field — and the only reason it is empty is that sighted people forget it exists. It is one of the few accessibility improvements an individual can make unilaterally, immediately, at no cost.
How
Describe the content and its purpose rather than labelling it: “Hand-written sign in a bakery window reading 'closed for a funeral, back Thursday'” rather than “a sign”. Include any text in the image verbatim — that is the part most often lost.
This is part of
A written list of what else helps in the same situation.
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