alt
attributes, also known as "alt tags" or "alt descriptions," are used to specify alternative text that is rendered when an image
cannot be displayed. They are crucial for improving web accessibility, as they provide a text description of images for users who rely on screen
readers.
Screen readers announce the presence of an <img>
element and read its alt
attribute aloud to describe the image. If
the alt
attribute includes words like "image", "picture", or "photo", it leads to redundancy as the screen reader would repeat "image".
For instance, an alt
attribute like "image of a sunrise" would be read as "Image, image of a sunrise", unnecessarily repeating
"image".
Instead, the alt
attribute should focus on describing the content of the image, not the fact that it is an image. This makes the
browsing experience more efficient and enjoyable for users of screen readers, as they receive a concise and meaningful description of the image
without unnecessary repetition.