Compatibility:
WebSite X5 Evo and Pro from v.2025.1
In a web page, images play an important role: they can convey content, help explain the accompanying text, or simply serve to create a pleasant and comfortable environment, contributing to the transmission of sensations and emotions.
But what happens when, for any reason, the user cannot see the images we have chosen to insert on our pages? The user may be unable to see due to visual impairments or, more simply, due to technical issues preventing the images from loading properly.
The way to make your website pages accessible is to accompany them with alternative text (ALT text) that can be read by screen readers used by visually impaired people or displayed by the browser in case the image fails to load.
From a technical perspective, adding alternative text is very simple:
- Open the Image settings window for the image you want to edit.
- In the Image File field where you imported the graphic file, you will find the
button. Click it to open the Accessibility window.
- If the image is purely decorative, it does not need alternative text. However, it is important to properly identify it in the HTML code as a decorative element and associate it with a null ALT attribute. To achieve this, simply activate the Decorative Element option.
- If the image has a functional purpose within the page beyond aesthetics, make sure that the Decorative Element option is NOT activated and enter an appropriate Title and Alternative Text in the corresponding fields.
#tip - To learn more about accessibility, understand when an image is decorative, and know how to correctly write alternative text, see How to Write Alternative Text for Non-Text Content on Web Pages.
The button that opens the Accessibility window in the Image File field can have two different states::
Dark gray → Indicates that no ALT text has been entered yet: click the button to add it.
Blue → Indicates that ALT text has already been entered: you can still click the button to modify it.