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Lessons · HTML and CSS · not "image of"

Not "image of"

The screen reader already says it is an image. Starting the alt with 'Image of' says it twice.

Hone is a place to practise programming. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.

What it is for

'Graphic, image of a blue kettle' is one word of information and three of throat-clearing, repeated on every image on the page.

How to think about it

Name the medium only when the medium matters -- 'Photograph of', 'Diagram showing', 'Screenshot of' are all real information. The rule is not a ban on the word; it is a ban on saying nothing with it.

Worked example

<img src="x" alt="Ada Lovelace, 1843">
No 'image of'. The role comes from the element, and the alt is the part only you can supply.

Your turn

The role of an image comes from the

The trap

An icon inside a button that already has text takes empty alt. Otherwise the button announces as 'floppy disk Save'.

Practise not "image of" on HoneA question on it now, a coding challenge where there is one, and it is remembered for review. Free, no email needed.