Alt text doesn’t appear on hover

Users often wonder, “Why isn’t my alt text showing up when I hover over images?” In fact, these are two different attributes. The text that appears when you hover on an image with your mouse is the “title tag” (or tool tip). 

The alt text for an image, however, is shown when the image cannot be displayed. For example, visually impaired users will have the alt text read to them to describe the image. 

Title tag technology is no longer a web standard practice because of increasing concerns with website accessibility. Users on mobile devices, users with screen readers, and those who cannot or do not utilize a pointer device to navigate the web may not be able to view tooltip text. 

Our best-practice recommendation is to avoid utilizing tooltips for information that all users may need to access.

Example of alt text with image, alt text encoded in HTML, and visual output of alt text in lieu of image

Example of tool tip with I am a tool tip text appearing when hovering over an image with mouse pointer

Was this article helpful?
1 out of 3 found this helpful

Comments

0 comments

Please Sign in to leave a comment if you don't see the comment box below.