Multimedia content, including videos and images as resources on websites, is growing day by day. However, adding images on a webpage should not keep the information from those with vision deficiencies or blindness.
When designing a website, you need to make all multimedia elements, including the images, ADA-compliant. This means that those with vision disabilities such as blindness or partial blindness should be able to access the content.
Others relying on assistive technologies such as screen readers should also be able to know what the image is all about. You can achieve this through accurate descriptions called alt-text.
When you comply with the ADA requirements, you make the content more accessible. Let’s uncover the best ways to achieve ADA image accessibility for websites.
What Is ADA Compliance?
Before we jump into a detailed guide for ADA image accessibility and more, let’s take a look at what ADA is, what it governs, and how.
ADA, or the Americans with Disabilities Act, is a compliance that governs what websites must have to accommodate people with disabilities.
Through ADA regulations, a website’s content becomes more accessible for those relying on assistive technology. This means that the ADA regulates the websites and keeps them under check to ensure that web designers create digital experiences that are accessible by all, regardless of ability.
What Is Image Accessibility?
As we live in a digital age, our everyday dependency on websites for information has become a common practice.
Due to this, it is critical that all individuals, regardless of ability, can have equal access to online resources. This goes far beyond the legal obligation as it is so much more of an ethical responsibility.
ADA images refer to those photos on the website that have alt-text. Alt text is a concise text description of an image. Assistive technologies such as screen readers can read the alt text to explain the purpose of the image to users.
Other important factors under image accessibility are sufficient color contrast, image size, navigation, and formatting that assist those with some disabilities.
ADA Regulations for Images and Resources
ADA images and resources must align with the web accessibility guidelines, which are the following:
- Images must have descriptive text for screen readers
- There must be sufficient color contrast
- A high readability is a must
- Keyboard navigability for images
- Closed captions for videos
Importance of Creating Accessible ADA Images for Websites
Images serve different purposes. Sometimes, websites use images to explain scenarios, while other times, they deliver key information. Images also boost user engagement and create an appealing digital experience.
However, those with disabilities must not experience any barriers when it comes to websites. Web accessibility guidelines are quite stern when it comes to accessibility.
Here’s why image accessibility is crucial for websites.
Assistive Technology
Users with disabilities rely on assistive technology such as screen readers to read out the information to them.
Alt-text for images allows assistive technology to interpret the image to the users with visual impairments. This way, your website complies with the web accessibility guidelines while also making the content more accessible to a broader audience.
Web Accessibility
Adding alt text to images isn’t just a suggestion — it’s a key requirement under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the gold standard for ensuring web accessibility.
Alt text is important for making websites more inclusive by describing images for screen readers, allowing visually impaired users to understand content just as fully as others.
SEO Benefits
But accessibility isn’t the only reason alt text matters. From an SEO benefits perspective, search engines rely on alt text to understand image content, helping websites rank higher in search results. This means better visibility, more traffic, and improved user engagement.
User Experience
Alt text also positively impacts user experience. It provides meaningful context when images fail to load and helps users browse with slow internet connections or text-only devices. Even for those without disabilities, clear alt text makes a website’s content more structured and easy to navigate.
Legal Compliance
And then there’s the legal compliance factor. Under website ADA compliance rules, particularly in the United States under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations must ensure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities. Failing to provide proper alt text can lead to legal risks and costly lawsuits.
Comprehensive Guide To Making Images and Resources Accessible
Making your website accessible isn’t just about following web accessibility guidelines — it’s about creating an inclusive experience for everyone.
ADA images, text contrast, and optimized interactive elements are all important for website ADA compliance.
Here are some actionable tips to make your website’s images and resources fully ADA-compliant, user-friendly, and optimized for both accessibility and SEO.
1. Add Descriptive Alt Text
If a visually impaired user visits your site, their screen reader relies on alt text to describe images. Without it, they miss out on crucial content.
Here’s what you need to know about considering descriptive alt text.
- Focus on detail. Instead of “image of a dog,” go for “Golden retriever playing fetch with a red ball in a park.“
- Skip the obvious. No need to say “image of” or “picture of.” Just describe the subject.
- Context matters. If an image supports a key point, your alt text should reflect that.
Search engines also read alt text, so adding it strategically helps your images show up in search results. Better accessibility, better rankings — it’s a win-win.
2. Use Images That Tell a Story
The best images aren’t just visually appealing; they convey the message. Stock photos can hurt your website’s credibility. If your audience has seen the same smiling businessman a hundred times, your content loses authenticity.
Let’s look into some actionable tips that improve accessibility and SEO.
- Use real photos whenever possible.
- Use images from your actual events, team, or customers to build trust.
- If you must use stock photos, choose wisely. Only pick images that feel natural and support your content.
- Pair images with a compelling caption to transform a simple image into a powerful storytelling tool.
Make every picture count!
3. Optimize Images for Speed (Because Nobody Likes a Slow Website)
Large, uncompressed images can turn your sleek website into a loading nightmare. Accessibility means making sure users don’t have to wait forever for content to appear.
Here’s what to do.
- Compress images. Use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce file sizes without sacrificing quality.
- Choose the right format. JPEGs work best for photos, while PNGs are better for graphics with transparency. For icons and logos, relying on SVG files keeps things crisp and lightweight.
4. Check Color Contrast Because Not Everyone Sees Color the Same Way
Ever tried reading light gray text on a white background? It’s frustrating, right? For people with visual impairments or color blindness, bad contrast makes your content unreadable.
Follow these tips for better readability.
- Use a color contrast checker to ensure the text stands out against its background. Tools like WebAIM’s contrast checker can help.
- Aim for a 4.5:1 contrast ratio. This meets web accessibility guidelines and makes text legible for everyone.
- Use underlines, bold text, or icons to convey meaning—because not all users can distinguish colors.
5. Avoid Adding Important Text in Images
If the text is important, don’t embed it in an image. Why? Because screen readers can’t read it, search engines can’t index it properly, and it won’t scale well on mobile devices.
Instead, try the following.
- Use actual text for headlines and key messages.
- HTML text is always more accessible than an image with words in it.
- If text must be in an image, include it in the alt text. That way, screen readers can still convey the information.
- If you overlay text on an image, make sure there’s enough contrast so everyone can read it.
6. Make Interactive Elements Keyboard-Friendly
Not all users navigate with a mouse. Some rely on keyboards or assistive devices to interact with websites, which means buttons, sliders, and image-based links must be accessible.
Here’s what you can do.
- Check all interactive images for keyboard navigation. Can you tab through all buttons and clickable elements? If not, they need fixing.
- Use clear focus indicators so users can see when they’re selecting an interactive element.
- Provide meaningful labels. A button that says “Learn More” should have an aria label like “Learn more about our accessibility features.”
7. Test Your Website for Accessibility (Because You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Know)
Think your website is accessible? Don’t assume; instead, test it! Many accessibility issues go unnoticed until someone actively checks.
Use tools such as Accessibility Spark. It is one of the smartest and the quickest fixes for accessibility issues. This AI-driven solution helps websites adhere to web accessibility guidelines in minutes.
Once installed, Accessibility Spark scans your website to identify accessibility issues such as missing keyboard navigation, insufficient color contrast, or lack of screen reader support.
Accessibility Spark can implement over 100 adjustments. It also does the following:
- Resizing text for readability.
- Enhancing color contrast between text and background.
- Adjusting spacing to prevent accidental clicks.
- Highlighting focus outlines for keyboard users.
Other tools like WAVE or Axe can also identify issues automatically. Try tools like NVDA or VoiceOver to experience your site as a visually impaired user would. Then, check for keyboard navigation. Once you’ve sorted these issues, your website is good to go.
Wrapping Up
ADA compliance for images and resources is non-negotiable now. It’s more important than ever to make content on a web page accessible to all. You’re not only saving yourself the legal trouble but also opening your content to a broader audience.
With accessible visuals, captions, sufficient contrast ratios, and highly navigable digital resources on your website, you create a next-level user experience, boost SEO performance, and play your part in making the digital spaces more welcoming.
Check your website with Accessibility Spark today and correct all shortcomings to make your website ADA-compliant and more accessible for everyone!