How to Create Alternative Text for an Image in a Wikipedia Article

Many of the millions of articles in Wikipedia have accompanying images. Those illustrated articles need an alternative text, or caption, for that image. If the image is not displayed, the alternative text substitutes for it. Follow these steps to open a Wikipedia account and submit an alternative text.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Open an account in Wikipedia

1. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. You can also key in "Wikipedia" in search engines like Google or Yahoo.

2. Go to the top right corner of the page. Click on "Sign in/create account." Register yourself by providing a Username and Password. Once you've been added, your Username will appear in red on the top of the page.

Create alternative text for an image in a Wikipedia article

3. Click the "edit" tab/box of the article you've selected.

4. Choose an appropriate caption for the article's image. It should fully represent the illustration.

5. The format should look like the following: [[Image:Image name|Frame|Caption]]. For example, for a picture and text of St. Xavier’s Cathedral Church, you could key in [[Image:Picture.jpeg|frame| and say:This picture was shot in the courtyard of St. Xavier’s Cathedral Church in New York]].

6. View the inserted caption below the image. The caption will be replaced for the alternative text automatically by Wikipedia.

7. Listen to the alternative text when using a speech browser.

8. Exclude the alternative text when the image makes the article visually appealing.

Tips & Warnings

• Write the text as if preparing it for an audio tape.
• Keep the alternative text descriptive yet precise.
• Avoid mentioning the filename, size and type in the text.