Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
  1. « back
  2. Q&A for Staff
  3. Staff Resources

Staff Specific Questions

What are best practices for creating alt text?
  • Keep it short, usually 1-2 sentences. Don’t overthink it.
  • Consider key elements of why you chose this image, instead of describing every little detail.
  • No need to say “image of” or “picture of.”
  • But, do say if it’s a logo, illustration, painting, or cartoon.
  • Don’t duplicate text that’s adjacent in the document or website.
  • End the alt text sentence with a period
How do I ensure our department materials or Sharepoint sites are accessible? 

Email intake@harford.edu for support and to stay informed about campus-wide web accessibility efforts.  Put “ACCESSIBILITY” in the subject line of the email. Response times will vary depending on the complexity of the question. 

What tools does Harford Community College provide to help create accessible content? 

Harford utilizes accessibility checkers native within Microsoft Office as well as other native and free checkers. 

How do I check if my content is accessible? 

Use built-in accessibility checkers in Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and Brightspace. 

What do I do if I inherit or need to use inaccessible content? 

First, check if accessible alternatives already exist. If not, prioritize remediating the most critical content and developing a plan for addressing the rest.

How do I make our social media posts accessible? 

FOR IMAGES:

1. Be Accurate and Concise

  • Describe the image: Convey the same information as the visual content.
  • Keep it brief: Aim for 125 characters or fewer, as screen readers may cut off longer text.
  • Focus on the core message: Describe the purpose of the image, not every minor visual detail.
  • Frontload information: Put the most important information at the beginning.

2. Contextualize the Image

  • Context matters: The same image may need different alt text depending on the page topic (e.g., a photo of a student for a "general campus" page vs. an "Honors Society" page).
  • Explain the purpose: Why is this image included? Does it illustrate a concept?.

3. Avoid Redundancy and Filler

  • Skip "image of" or "picture of": Screen readers already announce the element as an image, so saying "image of" is redundant.
  • Don't repeat captions:If an image has a caption that fully explains it, the alt text can be brief, or you can use empty alt text ( ) to avoid repeating information.
  • Avoid keyword stuffing: While alt text is used for SEO, cramming it with keywords hurts accessibility and user experience.

4. Handle Special Image Types

  • Decorative images: If an image is purely for decoration, use an empty alt attribute ( ) so screen readers skip it.
  • Functional images (Links/Buttons): If an image is a link, the alt text should describe the action or destination, not the visual (e.g., instead of).
  • Images containing text: If the image contains text, transcribe that text word-for-word in the alt text.
  • Complex images (Charts/Graphs): Provide a short summary in the alt text and a detailed description in the main text or a linked document.

5. Technical Requirements

  • Use proper punctuation: End with a period, which tells the screen reader to pause, helping it sound more natural.
  • Use correct language: Alt text must be in the same language as the main content.
  • Don't omit the tag: Always include an alt attribute, even if it is empty. If missing, screen readers may read the file name instead.

Examples:
Bad alt text: female student
Good alt text: female student volunteering at an honors society event on the Quad.

Bad alt text: image of laptop
Good alt text: admission screen shown on a laptop indicating in the upper right corner where to go to apply

Add alt text to images, use upper and lower case letters for hashtags (#DigitalAccessibility), limit emoji use, provide image descriptions, caption videos, and avoid posting text as images without alternative text.