alt text

Step 1 · How-to

Alt Text: Practical Guide

Provide a text alternative that communicates an image's purpose to people who cannot see it. A narrow first pass makes it easier to see whether the method works before applying it more widely.

Step 2 · Checklist

Alt Text: Checklist

Use this alt text checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect informative images with useful alternatives. Check an actual page or query record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.

Step 3 · Worksheet

Alt Text: Template and Field Guide

This alt text template turns a broad task into a record another person can use. It captures image, purpose, text alternative, then connects that information to a decision. Copy the table into your working document or system and create a separate record for each item in scope.

Step 4 · Examples

Alt Text: Worked Examples

The following alt text examples illustrate how to move from an observed problem to a practical decision. They are hypothetical operating scenarios, not customer results or performance benchmarks. The central question is whether the work helps improve informative images with useful alternatives without losing the context needed to judge it.

Step 5 · Procedure

Alt Text: Team Workflow and Handoff

A team workflow for alt text needs more than a list of tasks. Each person should know what to receive, what to produce, and what evidence allows the next person to continue. Use the procedure below to make responsibilities explicit and keep informative images with useful alternatives connected to the work.

Step 6 · Automation

Alt Text: Automation Workflow

A alt text automation workflow should handle repeatable preparation and record movement while preserving the decisions that require context. Start by defining a reliable trigger around a page or query record. Then specify the required information, the permitted action, and what happens when the conditions are not met.

Step 7 · Prioritization

Alt Text: How to Prioritize the Work

Prioritize alt text work by connecting an observed problem with the people or business outcomes it affects. The objective is to provide a text alternative that communicates an image's purpose to people who cannot see it. Give the team a short ordered queue with a reason for each decision, rather than treating every suggestion as equally urgent.

Step 8 · Evaluation

Alt Text: Review Process

A useful alt text review ends with a supported decision for each item examined. Define the evidence required before opening the report: image, purpose, text alternative, long description. These fields give reviewers a shared basis for agreeing what is working, what needs attention, and who should act.

Step 9 · Measurement

Alt Text: Metrics and Measurement

Measure alt text by defining informative images with useful alternatives precisely enough that two people can reproduce the result from the same records. Keep the reporting unit, date basis, and scope visible. Without those definitions, a change in the report may reflect a changed calculation rather than a changed customer outcome.

Step 10 · Mistakes

Alt Text: Mistakes and How to Fix Them

A common failure in alt text is stuffing keywords into every text alternative. The consequences often appear later, when someone tries to act on incomplete or misleading information. This guide explains how to recognize the failure, correct the immediate problem, and prevent it from becoming a repeated working practice.