The following image is the only content of a link that leads to the W3C home page. It has the text alternative “W3C home” to indicate where the link will take the user. The next example, “Logo image within link text” example, discusses what to do when there is more text in the link to identify the destination:
Example 2: Logo image within link text
In this example, the W3C logo is used to supplement text within a link that leads to the W3C home page. The image does not represent different functionality or convey other information than that already provided in the link text, so a null (empty) value is applied, (alt=""), to avoid redundancy and repetition. In effect the image is a decorative adjunct or visual cue to the link text:
Example 3: Icon image conveying information within link text
In this example, the image follows text within a link to inform users that the link will open in a new window. It has the text alternative “new window” to convey the meaning of the icon:
Example 4: Stand-alone icon image that has a function
The following image is an icon representing a printer to denote print functionality. It has the text alternative “Print this page” because its purpose is to activate the print dialog when it is selected:
Example 5: Image used in a button
The following image is used to give the button a distinct style. In this case, it is the button to initiate a search request and is an icon representing a magnifying lens. The text alternative for the image is “search” to convey the purpose of the button: