Essay

Why Does Medium Make It Hard To Write Alt Text for Images

I am blind, and I cannot add alt text to images on Medium

How to Alt text on Medium (Image created by Elle Becker in Canva)

I am blind, and I cannot add alt text to images on Medium.

Alt text, adding text descriptions for images is essential for accessibility, but Medium makes the process inaccessible for writers who are blind.

Blind people use programs called screen readers (voice output) to access digital content like stories on Medium, articles on other websites, documents, slide presentations, and social media posts. Screen readers cannot directly interact with images. For this reason, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG, mandate text alternatives for images whether they are pictures, icons, or buttons. Buttons, edit boxes and other form fields need to have text labels, and images need to have alt text associated with them.

What is Alt Text

Alt Text,” short for alternative text, is an HTML attribute that labels an image with a description. Many websites and apps allow users to enter Alt Text into a metadata field associated with the image.

When my screen reader encounters an image, it reads the alt text that is associated with the image. When writers add alt text, their images are…