Alt Text
Alternative Text, more commonly known as "alt text," is a brief description of an image for people utilizing screen readers or other assistive tech. It provides a way for screen readers to "see" the image. Give Lively provides a text box for adding alt text on every image you upload to your pages.
Alt text should not just describe the image, but it should also provide context on how that image relates to the rest of the content on your page. It provides clarity on what the image is trying to convey. Alt text is not just for low-vision users, but also for people who may be confused by the image as it is often visible to users that don't use screen readers, too.
When writing alt text for your images there are only a few rules you need to follow.
Alt text is very short, usually just one or two sentences.
Do not feel compelled to include every detail or overthink what you should say.
If you're having trouble thinking of what to say, write what a sighted donor would take away from the image in just a sentence.
If the image is a photograph, you don't have to write "image of" or "photo of," etc. Screen readers automatically add those words when reading the alt text to their users.
However, if the image is a logo, illustration, painting, or some other unique type of visual, feel free to mention that part.
If the image has a lot of informative text on it, like a movie poster would, you should have the important text restated somewhere in the body of your fundraising page. It does not have to be in the alt text of the image.
End the alt text sentence with a period.
Color Choice
Colors can play a large role in making sure your page is legible and easy to look at. You should aim to pick a brand color that contrasts well with the black and white colors of your Give Lively fundraising page.
There are many tools available online to help with picking the right ones. If you need a recommendation, a commonly used site that helps with picking colors is https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/.
Video Transcripts
If you have embedded videos onto your fundraising page then providing a transcript of the videos is something Give Lively strongly recommends. A video transcript is like a text-based version of your video’s content. It will go a long way to helping hearing impaired and other disabled users engage with your video and message. Even users that have no impairments find transcripts beneficial as something to read and follow along with, especially if they are trying to watch your video in a loud or noise heavy environment.
Video transcription can be done manually or with an automated service, although those can cost money. If you're looking for a recommendation, YouTube and Vimeo both support video transcriptions and provide articles that can help: