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HTML alt Attribute

The alt attribute specifies an alternative text which must be rendered if the element cannot be displayed. See examples of this attribute on different elements.

The HTML alt attribute is used in HTML and XHTML documents. It specifies an alternative text which must be rendered if the element cannot be displayed for some reason. The alt attribute can also be used by screen readers to allow visually impaired users to interact with a webpage. To be accessible, an image must have an alt attribute. However, it can be left empty (alt="") for decorative images where no alternative text is needed.

You can use the alt attribute on the following elements: <area>, <img>, <input>.

Danger

It is required to use the alt attribute for the <img> element. For <input> elements, you can only use the alt attribute with <input type="image">.

Syntax

Syntax of the "alt" attribute

<img alt="alternative text">
<area alt="alternative text">

Example of the HTML alt attribute used on the <area> element:

HTML alt Attribute

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p>Click on the logo or on one of the logo item to watch it closer:</p>
    <img src="/uploads/media/news_gallery/0001/01/thumb_316_news_gallery_list.jpeg"  width="250" height="150" alt="block" usemap="#blockmap" />
    <map name="blockmap">
      <area shape="circle" coords="50,32,25" alt="html" href="/uploads/media/book_gallery/0001/01/d450f0358f947dffb3af91195c3002600d74101b.png" />
      <area shape="circle" coords="218,115,25" alt="css" href="/uploads/media/book_gallery/0001/01/25521e981b34da57c8f51baddc5b76351b855818.png" />
      <area shape="circle" coords="195,32,28" alt="php" href="/uploads/media/book_gallery/0001/01/4bbee6698c4884f25c46010d61b658dd62d2c04f.png" />
      <area class="homepage" shape="rect" coords="90,90,35,55" alt="php" href="https://www.w3docs.com/" />
    </map>
  </body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »

Example of the HTML alt attribute used on the <img> element:

HTML alt Attribute

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <img src="/uploads/media/default/0001/01/25acddb3da54207bc6beb5838f65f022feaa81d7.jpeg" alt="Aleq" width="200" height="185"/>
  </body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »

Example of the HTML alt attribute used on the <input> element:

Example of the HTML <span class="attribute">"alt"</span> attribute used on the <input> element

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      input {
        vertical-align: middle;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <form action="/form/submit">
      Email:
      <input type="email" name="Email" />
      <input type="image" src="https://i7.pngguru.com/preview/278/823/594/computer-icons-button-clip-art-green-submit-button-png.jpg" alt="Submit button" width="60" height="60" />
    </form>
  </body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »

Practice

Practice

What is the purpose of the 'alt' attribute in HTML?