INPUT with equivalent ALT |
Section 508 1194.22(a); WAI / WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 1.1
Issue Description Image used as a button in the form has a valid description. It should have an equivalent textual description.
How to check Test the content of the ALT attribute of the INPUT element. Remember that the description should explain the effect of clicking on the button. Beware that when the mouse is used to click on the image, the form and the click coordinates are submitted to the server. If the server takes different actions depending on the location clicked, users of non-graphical browsers will be disadvantaged. For this reason, you should consider alternate approaches such as the following:

- Use multiple submit buttons (each with its own image) in place of a single graphical submit button. You may use style sheets to control the positioning of these buttons.
- Use a client-side image map together with scripting.

Issue Explanation The ALT attribute describes the associated image so that users without graphics-enabled browsers can still effectively navigate the page. The advent of hand-held, text-only browsers makes the use of the ALT descriptions more important now than ever.

If the button image does not have an equivalent textual description, users of non-graphical browsers will have no idea what clicking that button will do.

Beware of another possible problem. When the mouse is used to click on the image, the form and the click coordinates are submitted to the server. If the server takes different actions depending on the location clicked, users of non-graphical browsers will be disadvantaged. For this reason, you should consider alternate approaches such as the following:

- Use multiple submit buttons (each with its own image) in place of a single graphical submit button. You can use style sheets to control the positioning of these buttons.
- Use a client-side image map together with scripting.