Alt Text Guide

Questions answered by this guide

• ?What is alt text?
• ?How do I write good alt text?
• ?Does every image need alt text?
• ?How do I add alt text in Storyline?
• ?How do I add alt text in Rise?
• ?What should I write for a chart or graph?
• ?Why does A11yCheck flag missing alt text?

What you'll learn

• Alt text is what a screen reader reads instead of an image
• Describe what the image communicates, not what it looks like
• The concept is identical in Storyline and Rise, only the menu path differs

What's inside

Instructional designers writing alt text in any authoring tool

1. 01The concept
2. 02Writing alt text that actually helps
3. 03How to add it in Storyline
4. 04How to add it in Rise
5. 05Where Storyline and Rise differ

Why it matters

A screen reader cannot see an image. It reads the alt text out loud instead. Without alt text, a screen reader announces the image as just "image," or reads its file name aloud, both meaningless to a listener. This is WCAG success criterion 1.1.1, one of the most basic accessibility requirements there is, and one of the most commonly missed.

When you'll encounter this

• A slide has a photo, screenshot, icon, or chart that carries real information, not just decoration.
• You're building a scenario-based course (retail, healthcare, compliance) where a photo shows a real workplace situation the learner needs to recognize.
• You import a slide deck built by someone else, whose images have never had alt text considered at all.
• A11yCheck flags "Missing Alt Text" on a scan report.

Examples

Best practices

• Describe what the image communicates, not what it looks like. "Bar chart showing a 20% increase in customer satisfaction" is far more useful than "bar chart," and much better than "chart.png."
• Keep it short, usually one sentence and under about 150 characters. A screen reader reads the whole description without letting a listener skip ahead, so a long one becomes tedious to sit through.
• If the image contains readable text, like a screenshot with a button label, include that text in your description. A learner using a screen reader cannot read words inside an image.
• Mark purely decorative images (borders, background shapes, dividers) as decorative instead of writing alt text for them, so a screen reader skips them.
• In Storyline: right-click the image, choose Size and Position, open the Accessibility tab, and either type a description or check the box marking it decorative. Repeat for every image, icon, and graphic on the slide.
• In Rise: click the image block to select it, open its settings, and find the alt text field. Type a description or mark it decorative. Repeat for every image block in the lesson.
• The underlying decision is identical either way: does this image add information, or is it just decoration? Only the menu path to enter your answer differs between the two tools.

Common mistakes

• Leaving alt text blank, or using the file name as the alt text. "quarterly-chart-final-v3.png" tells a screen reader user nothing.
• Writing "image of" or "picture of" at the start. A screen reader already announces that it is an image.
• Marking a genuinely informative image as decorative because writing a real description felt like extra work.
• Describing a chart by its colors instead of the data it actually shows.
• In Rise specifically: writing alt text for the main image block, then forgetting images used as background fills or nested inside other block types.

Practical checklist

• Every meaningful image has a real, written description, not a file name.
• Descriptions explain what the image communicates, not just what it looks like.
• Decorative images are marked to be skipped by a screen reader.
• Alt text is one sentence, under about 150 characters.
• If an image contains readable text, that text is included in the description.
• In Storyline, this is set per image in the Accessibility tab under Size and Position.
• In Rise, this is set per image block in the block's own settings.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Alt text describes an image for a learner who cannot see it. Focus on what the image communicates, keep it under about a sentence, and mark decorative images to be skipped. The concept is the same in Storyline and Rise, only where you enter it differs.