Adding alternative text (alt text) to images is a simple but powerful way to make content accessible for everyone. Alt text ensures that employees using screen readers and other assistive technology, as well as those who cannot load images due to limited connectivity, still receive the full meaning of your communication. By writing clear and descriptive alt text, you not only comply with accessibility standards, such as WCAG, but also build a culture of inclusion where every employee can engage equally with your content. This use case details how you can improve clarity, consistency, and trust in your internal communications through alt text.

In this article:

Key Facts | Steps | Measure Success | Best Practices | How Alt Text Looks For Users

Problem Statement: Employees who rely on screen readers or face technical issues may miss essential content embedded within images, leading to gaps in information access and reduced inclusivity.

Business Objective: Improve compliance with accessibility guidelines and strengthen trust across the workforce by ensuring inclusive communication with equal access to visual content.

Staffbase Features:

• Email Designer: Add alt text to all images to make email content accessible.
• Pages: Incorporate accessible images across internal documentation and updates.
• News: Enhance inclusivity in visual storytelling by embedding descriptive alt text and displaying it as a fallback when images fail to load, beneficial for users on weak internet connections.

Audience: Employees using screen readers and those with device limitations or internet constraints.

Outcome: Accessible communications that can be fully understood by employees regardless of visual ability, device limitations, or internet constraints.

You can use this step-by-step guide to set up this use case in Staffbase.

Add Alt Text to an Image in News or Pages

1. In the Studio, navigate to Content > page or post to which you want to add alt text.
2. Click on the image to which you want to add an alt text.
3. Click ALT button.
4. Enter the Alt Text.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click Save.

Learn more about adding alt text to images in News or Pages.

Add Alt Text to an Image in Email

1. In the Studio, navigate to Email > the draft of the email you want to send or schedule.
2. Open the email.
3. Click the image and navigate to Image Settings in the right pane.
4. In the Alternative Text field, enter the alt text.
5. Click Save.

Learn more about adding alt text to an email image.

Set-up and Ongoing Governance

• Regularly audit content to confirm images contain descriptive alt text.
  Audits help maintain consistency and hygiene across all communication channels.
• Train content creators on writing effective alt text.
  Training reinforces the importance of alt text and ensures all editors follow the same standards and guidelines.
• Align alt text with WCAG accessibility standards.
  Familiarizing Editors with accessibility requirements ensures communications remain compliant.

This is how you can track the success of this use case.

Collect Employee Feedback

• Create surveys to gather insights from employees who use alt text, and share feedback within the editorial team.
• Collect feedback from live sessions with employees using assistive technology to identify recurring issues and shape future training for content creators.

Staffbase has a few recommendations to ensure the best experience for your users.

 

Keep It Descriptive

• Focus on the image’s purpose in context, not just visual details.
• Keep it concise, 1–2 sentences that convey the intent.
• Include any text in the image (quotes, headlines).

 

Keep it Clean and Relevant

• Skip phrases like “image of” or “picture of.”
• Only mention colors when they aid understanding.
• Use clear punctuation for better screen reader delivery.

 

Be Consistent Across Platforms

• Ensure all images in emails, news, and pages include alt text.
• Apply organization-wide accessibility guidelines to maintain consistency.
• Test with screen readers to confirm clarity and usability.

• Overview and Best Practices for Alt Text
• Best Practices for Creating Accessible Content
• Adding Alternative Text for Accessible Images