Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Opinion Request Regarding Images on Websites (self.Blind)
submitted by ComaWell
Hello!
I am working on a project to make a website more accessible, but I am looking to get some opinions from people who regularly use screen readers and similar things to navigate websites, in particular regarding images. I understand that proper captioning is an important aspect to making images accessible, however the website I am working on is an e-commerce site, and I'm on the fence about what to do for product images/showcases.
For example, the landing page has many images that are more or less just showcasing what the product looks like, and any caption I put for them ("person holding \*product\*," "pile of \*product\*'s laying on a table, etc.) I don't think would be very useful for a visually impaired person (I might be wrong though).
One thought I had was just to hide these images altogether from screen readers- I have learned that navigating a page via screen readers is a lot more linear, and my thought was that hiding non-useful information would make navigating the site itself easier. Plus, typically product images are accompanied by a description or other caption somewhere of what the product is anyways. But on the other hand, I feel weird about filtering content out for screen readers just because I personally decided that they wouldn't be useful or interesting to a visually-impaired person.
So my questions are the following:
1. Would you as a screen reader-user prefer that some extraneous images be omitted for the sake of quicker/more succinct navigation?
2. If not, are there any situations where you would want some website content to be omitted for this reason? Or would you prefer that absolutely everything on the site be included no matter what?
I am working on a project to make a website more accessible, but I am looking to get some opinions from people who regularly use screen readers and similar things to navigate websites, in particular regarding images. I understand that proper captioning is an important aspect to making images accessible, however the website I am working on is an e-commerce site, and I'm on the fence about what to do for product images/showcases.
For example, the landing page has many images that are more or less just showcasing what the product looks like, and any caption I put for them ("person holding \*product\*," "pile of \*product\*'s laying on a table, etc.) I don't think would be very useful for a visually impaired person (I might be wrong though).
One thought I had was just to hide these images altogether from screen readers- I have learned that navigating a page via screen readers is a lot more linear, and my thought was that hiding non-useful information would make navigating the site itself easier. Plus, typically product images are accompanied by a description or other caption somewhere of what the product is anyways. But on the other hand, I feel weird about filtering content out for screen readers just because I personally decided that they wouldn't be useful or interesting to a visually-impaired person.
So my questions are the following:
1. Would you as a screen reader-user prefer that some extraneous images be omitted for the sake of quicker/more succinct navigation?
2. If not, are there any situations where you would want some website content to be omitted for this reason? Or would you prefer that absolutely everything on the site be included no matter what?
CloudyBeep 6 points 1y ago
In the specific case you're describing, I would not hide the images. If I was interested in a product, I might try to put screen reader focus on the image if I wanted to ask a sighted person to tell me more about it.
In terms of specifically how to describe these images, I would try to focus more on the details of the product. You could treat this as an opportunity to describe the product more descriptively and objectively (without the marketing spin on what it's like).
In terms of specifically how to describe these images, I would try to focus more on the details of the product. You could treat this as an opportunity to describe the product more descriptively and objectively (without the marketing spin on what it's like).
ComaWell [OP] 3 points 1y ago
That's a good point. I probably could make more useful captions than "person holding product" in this case lol. Thank you!
6-20PM 2 points 1y ago
I asked the same question a few days ago. Here is a guide on the use of images: $1
ComaWell [OP] 3 points 1y ago
This is a great resource that I hadn't found, thank you!
6-20PM 2 points 1y ago
Best of luck! Others also recommended using a screen reader to review your website as part of your site development.
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