Image Alt Attribute

Web-Dev

There is much confusion about the proper use of the alt attribute. The first confusion is reference to the alt attribute as the alt tag. This is more or less okay, but….. if you do a google search on alt attribute you will get results that are generated by more knowledgeable writers. So, while it is okay to use alt tag it would be better to at least know the proper term. If for no other reason when you see alt attribute used in an article you will know that they are talking about your good old friend alt tag. :)

Before we talk about the more philosophical aspects of the alt attribute let’s get right to the meat of the matter.

Proper-ish Use of Alt Attribute

  1. You must use an alt attribute on images.
  2. It may not be used for any element other than img, area, and input. For our purposes just concern yourself with the img element. And know you may not use alt on tables, href links, or anything else.
  3. Use the alt attribute to provide text for visitors who can’t see the images in your document.
  4. For decorative/style images, use alt="" instead of irrelevant text such as “red line”, “spacer”, etc.
  5. If the image contains text then use alt=”that text”. If the image is company logo such as Galaxy Website Design  then use alt=”Galaxy Website Design”.
  6. Alt attribute is not for tool tips. It does not (or at least should not) work that way.
  7. Remember the alt attribute is a substitute for those who cannot see the image for one reason or another.

When & Why is Alt Attribute Displayed

The alt attribute is displayed when the image is not. The alt attribute is literally the alternative to the image.

Reasons for seeing alt text:

  • Viewer is visually handicapped and is using a screen reader.
  • Viewer has image download turned off by choice.
  • Viewer is using slow connection.

First and foremost consider that the alt text is being used by screen readers. So be compassionate. The alt attribute is NOT the place to do keyword stuffing. Please have mercy on those using screen reader software.

Some people look at webpages with image download turned off by choice. Therefore they will see the alt text. They may have turned of image download for any one of many valid (and/or invalid) reasons. The choice was theirs. The alt text should make sense for these folks. You can turn off image download in your browser to see what this looks like. If you are a stuffer, hopefully you will be suitably shamed into better alt attribute behavior after looking at your pages in this fashion.

For those will slow internet connections, they will see the alt text temporarily while the image is being downloaded. When my broadband is acting more like narrowband dial-up, I will often see the alt text on the page while waiting for the image to download.

Alt Attribute Use Summary

  1. Alt-text is required for all images.
  2. If the image is active (link, button, area) the text alternative is the function of the image;
  3. If the image is not active but conveys information, the text alternative conveys the same information;
  4. If the image is redundant or conveys no information use alt=”” for the text alternative.
  5. If the image is text then the alt-text should (usually) be the same as the text in the image.
  6. Make it as short as possible, but as long as necessary

Some Reference Links

Share The Wins

Mishmosh

We live in a crazy time. Apathy, confusion of focus, overwhelm, and an abiding sense of hollow abound.

It’s weird. We are being pulled a million different directions. And as Harry Nilsson says in his script The Point “A point in every direction is a point is no direction at all.”

Social networking sites give us points of “contact.” But, often the contacts are unsatisfying or a bit hollow. This is were sharing a win comes in.

Any time you can contact someone that participated in a project (on any level) and tell them about a “win” for the project you are giving a bit of focus and helping point the way to some value in their work.

“Hey, thanks for giving me that lead the other day it looks like I’ll  be sitting down with them for some serious conversation.” This shows you to be a winner. This shows the person you are contacting that you appreciate their help. This shows that person that what they do matters. And, encourages them. Everyone can benefit from a little encouragement.

So share those wins.

Host Blog As Folder Not Subdomain

Web-Dev

When deciding on where and how to host your blog consider the following.

If you have the choice between:

  • myblog.someotherguysdomain.com
  • myblog.yourdomain.com
  • www.yourdomain.com/myblog

Use www.mydomain.com/myblog.

This will improve the ranking of yourdomain.com. Why put the work in to build the reputation of someotherguysdomain.com when that effort can go into building yourdomain.com? Continue reading →

Back To Basics

SEO

In case you are wondering, I am not an expert in SEO. I am willing to share what I do know, and, I’m willing to learn. I think SEO can be a great and wonderful thing. However, I advise my clients to forget about it.

I advise my clients to concentrate on WSO (website optimization) and marketing. But isn’t SEO mostly website optimization and marketing? Yes. But, it is a slightly obfuscated version. So lets get back to basics and and address the issues in their fundamental state.

I’m convinced that by dividing the tasks into WSO and marketing it will help to concentrate and focus our efforts. Continue reading →

Just Say No To SEO

SEO, Web-Dev

Admittedly a slightly inflammatory title for an article about SEO. The lesson that I hope you can take away from this blog is that it is a mistake to concentrate on SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)  You will be much better served by concentrating on WSO (WebSite Optimization).

To concentrate on WSO (website optimization) requires first that you divide SEO into two distinct and separate areas of endeavor — 1) website development, and 2) website marketing.

All of the discussion around SEO have confused these two. The topics of website development and marketing of one’s website have been mushed together. This has served (either deliberately or accidentally) to confuse the issues of web development and marketing. This has made it possible for certain service companies to create a niche for themselves that allows them to provide a service that is inherently difficult to measure.

Let’s get back to basics. Let’s have those folks that know the products and services represented by the website spearhead the development — with expert technical help where and when necessary. And, let’s have those folks that know marketing spearhead the marketing of the website. If you happen to be running a one man (or one woman) operation, then get yourself two hats and get down to business wearing only one hat at time.

In my next blog, let’s start assigning SEO tasks to each of these hats.

It Takes Passion

Mishmosh

I was speaking with two new clients this evening. A very pleasant couple, both artists with a background in several old school marketing. They know what they are getting into and are well prepared for it.

That’s not what this blog is about. At least not directly. As I was speaking with the couple, asking questions, poking and prodding into their situation and hopes for their website I realized what it was I looking for — I was looking for their passion. Before taking them on as clients I needed to uncover the degree of passion they had for their business.

It is clear to me that passion is the one thing that will help see one through the road ahead of each website owner. Need does not do it. Trying to get from here to there with “need” as your fuel is not the way to go.

Need can be a powerful motivator. But, working from need can be such a struggle.

I’ll give you an example. We all know that social media is an excellent place to make contacts and create buzz about your website. And, we know that if your need is profound enough you can keep your nose to the grindstone without fail. However, if you have a passion then you don’t have to worry about keeping your nose to a grindstone — there is no grind.

If you are passionate about ceramics creating blogs, tweets, and writing on facebook walls about ceramics is no chore — it is your passion. It comes easy AND the process is your reward. Using a need to drive you is so different. A need for sales is not satisfied in the present. The connection between writing yet another blog about ceramics and making a sale is tenuous at best. There is correlation. But it is hardly absolute. Hence, writing  blogs, tweets, and facebook prods will not translate into immediate satisfaction.

Need is good. A need for sales will turn a hobbyist into a pro. But the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine (of day to day work) go down is passion.

When trying to satisfy a need (such as income generation) I believe it is crucial to find a way that allows for the expression of your passion at the same time. This will give you the juice to make it through the humps and hurdles that are sure to come your way in this business.

Search Engine Spam

Web-Dev

Spam is usually associated with email — and for a few folks a pork-based meat cube in a can. We all agree that email spam is a bad thing. And email programs around the world are taking more and more steps every day to exclude spam.

There is such as thing as search engine spam as well. In email spam, the spam is volumes of un-wanted emails. In search engine spam, the spam is volumes of un-wanted content on a web page. If you let this notion of search engines such as google defining something like “un-wanted content on a web page” you might get a little annoyed at the prospect of google (or anyone else) trying to tell me what I can and cannot put on my website. Continue reading →

The subject of Spiritual Gaming is as simple as it is complex

Gaming

Discussion of the how, what, where, why, and when of Spiritual Gaming is easy — when it is framed in a practical, problem-solving context.

It is only when pressed to define “gaming” and “spiritual” in the abstract that the wicket get sicky. Every direction one begins leads to painting the discussion in a corner. Thus, unless there are cogent reasons that dictate otherwise I say “gaming” and “spiritual” to be taken in the widest possible terms. Continue reading →

Why I Do This

Mishmosh

I had a great meeting today with an old friend that I haven’t seen for about a decade.

He is preparing for retirement from a very successful dental laboratory service company that he built from the ground up. Now that he is getting closer to that magical day, he has begun in earnest the process of building a set of websites that will be enjoyable for him to run, exercise his penchant for creative activities, and provide a handy income to supplement his current portfolio.

For his purposes it looks like he will need seven websites. All of the websites involve hobbies or passions he has nurtured over the years. But, he just wasn’t able to make the leap from thinking about doing it to doing it.

What was holding him back? A handful of progress blocking speed bumps — a few web issues beyond his skill set. To him they were monstrous complexities. To me, because of my background in programming and website design, they were interesting challenges to be processed through rather quickly.

It was like a cork screw salesman stumbling upon a group of friends gathered in the park for an outdoor wine tasting event — to which no one had thought to bring a bottle opener.

Through my geekitude and background, I was able to remove a road block that was keeping him from creative expression of his passions.

I didn’t create his passion, I can’t take any credit for the hard work ahead of him. But, I can feel good about helping him get started — and perhaps lending a hand from time to time at need.

To me this is leverage of the best variety.

From Yoyodyne’s Gaming Diary #3

Gaming

A third installment from Yoyodyne’s Gaming Diary. If you appreciate these, let me know. I will bug her for more contributions.

Invisible Work And Other Things We Can’t See

There is a great mirror effect that works in the Bardo Safari environment when working with the group. I think without the group the mirror itself is invisible. The mirror is part of the reflection.

Isn’t it? Or is it? What I noticed is that tendencies that are invisible to me in this realm are visible and undeniable in the Bardo Safari realm.

There is no time to forget what happened because you have a present and very visible view the 3 Vs) of the whole situation. It is true that seasoned voyagers will have a better knowledge of what they are looking at on the screen than a noob and noobs will be more or less knowledgeable of what they are seeing depending on the degree of attention but no matter how much you see or don’t see, exposure to the space gradually sharpens, strengthens and focuses the attention and, other things as well. It seems to happen as if by magic but we know it took many, many BTUs of heat to get that little kernel to pop. When the motivation to change is for the benefit of the group and not for oneself it becomes a whole new bowl of cherries.

Yoyodyne