Why should I use alt text for images?

When you include images in your messages, those images may or may not always display by default in the email clients that they are sent to. This is because many email services will disable images in messages that are sent to their users, unless the user actually clicks a link in a message that they receive to verify that they do indeed want to see the images.

Generally once a subscriber chooses to display images in at least one of your messages, then images will automatically display from any messages sent by you to that subscriber. This, however, would be dependent on their email client.



Above you will see what might appear in an email client if it is not set to display images automatically. So when your images do not appear, the subscribers will instead see the "Alt Text" for your image. Unless your subscribers choose to display images for messages received from you, they will only see the "Alt Text" for the images. In the screenshot below you will see that the "Alt Text" that displays instead of the image is "The Widget Workers Banner." 



Another reason to include "Alt Text" for your messages are for subscribers that may use screen readers to read their email. Generally subscribers that are visually impaired will use some sort of screen reader software to read their messages to them. When the screen reading software is reading the message to the subscriber it will read the "Alt Text" for an image when it gets to that part of reading that message to the subscriber.

How do I include "Alt Text" with my images?

1. First, if you have not already done so, insert an image into your message. Click on the image after it has been inserted and make sure you see the "Image" menu on the right side of the screen.
   
   
   
   
2. From that image menu you will see a section for "Image Alt Text." In that box you will want to type in the "Alt Text" that you want to use for that image. In our example below we are giving the image alt text that says "Widget Workers Hard At Work!"
   
   
   
   

Now, whenever subscribers receive your messages and their images aren't set to display by default, they will see the "Alt Text" for that image instead!



Note: If your "Alt Text" is not displaying, then the length of your "Alt Text" may be too long. Image "Alt Text" should not exceed the overall width of your image in your message. When an email client detects that "Alt Text" is longer than the width of the image, then the "Alt Text" will not be displayed.

Also, please make sure to not use any quotes in your "Alt Text" as that can cause the "Alt Text" to not display in certain email clients.