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1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)

Make sure images and other non-text elements on your website are accessible by including meaningful text alternatives (alt text).

What you need to know

  • All non-text content (images, video, audio, buttons, and other content that isn’t conveyed by text) needs to have alt text that provides the same information found in the content.
  • Purely decorative content (for example, a dividing line between a navigation bar and content) does not need alt text.
  • Even if users have the option to use an audio or text CAPTCHA, there will be people with types of disabilities other than visual who will find it impossible to access or transact on a website. For these reasons, workarounds to CAPTCHAs are often recommended,

What you need to do

  • Add concise, meaningful alt text to images.
  • Make captions available for video.
  • Provide text transcripts for audio (and video if you want to go beyond the 1.1.1 requirement).
  • Programmatically label form fields and buttons.

Reference

Read the full explanation of success criterion 1.1.1 on W3.org.

Related Resource

Check out “Have you identified which images are meaningful and which images are decorative in mockups?” from Digital.gov for more information about this success criterion.