RULE ONE: MAKE IT A DETAILED BUT RELEVANT IMAGE DESCRIPTION

Make your alt text descriptive of the image you are presenting!

The context of the media you are presenting is important! If it's a post about your outfit, you don't need to describe the background as much as the outfit!

Keep your descriptions neat and brief.

Remember, if a sighted person would notice it, or it's important to the post, include it in the image description!

RULE TWO: KEEP OPINIONS OUT OF YOUR IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS!

The rest of the post is for you to express your opinion; keep the image descriptions objective and explanatory.

Your portrayal is what a blind or visually impaired person will be assuming the image is, so don't mix in your opinions or other information not shown in the image.

RULE THREE: DO NOT USE THE ALT TEXT AS AN EXTENSION FOR YOUR POST

Alt text is an accessibility tool, not something to mess around with.

I see this a lot, and usually it gives me a false hope that someone I look up to has done something to help with accessibility, and then it's upsetting to come across this. Do better!

RULE FOUR: TRY YOUR BEST

If you think about the context of the post with ONLY the knowledge of what is in your alt text, does the post still make sense?

Thank you for taking a step towards a more accessible future! Examples are below for people interested.

Examples

Good alt text: "A photo of a faraway mountain landscape past a river. The top of the photo has red and orange leaves covering the corners and top bit of the image. There is a city below the mountain, and a person on a motor boat in the water. The water is reflecting the shape of the mountain." This image description gives a clear indication of everything in the image, and provides a good description of all the scenery.

BAD alt text: "A photo of water in front of a mountain." This alt text does not provide much context. It is better than nothing, but minimal to the point of being not very helpful.

Good alt text: "A selfie of John. He is outside with the sun behind him. John has a beard and short brown hair. He is smiling and holding his hand out reached towards the sun. He also has a hiking pack on his back." This image description gives a clear indication of everything in the image, and provides a good description of what John is doing!

BAD alt text: "A selfie of me on a hike." This alt text does not provide much context or tell us what you look like! The comments could probably have told us this was a selfie, so you did not help much.