Accessible web design tips: add alt attributes to spacer images
Always add an empty alt attribute to every spacer or decorative image you use in your website, i.e. <img src="spacer.gif" alt="">.
If spacer or decorative images have no alt attributes, those browsing with images off, or with text browsers, will either see or hear the file name, or the text '[image]', for each image lacking an alt attribute.
As spacer images tend to be liberally sprinkled throughout many website - having to listen to the words '[image]' 150 times on each page of a site can be very annoying.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, by Jim Byrne. All rights reserved. Jim Byrne is a recognised authority on accessible web design, author of Making Websites Accessible (SAIF, 2002) and a founder the Making Connections Unit (established 1996), an award winning accessible web design consultancy (http://www.mcu.com).
These accessible web design tips may be reproduced in a website, e-zine, CD-ROM, book, magazine, etc. so long as the above biographical information is included in full, including the link back to this website. Please e-mail Jim at jim@mcu.org.uk, before using the tips.