accessibility glossary

Images of Text

A WCAG success criterion (1.4.5, Level AA) discouraging the use of images to display text that could be presented as real, styled text instead.

Images of Text asks teams to use actual text styled with CSS rather than a picture of text, except in cases like logos or where a specific visual presentation is essential to the content. Real text can be resized, reflowed, recolored by the user, and read aloud accurately by a screen reader, none of which a flattened image can do.

This shows up most often in marketing banners, pricing graphics, and social-style quote images embedded directly in page content. The fix is usually straightforward: rebuild the graphic as styled HTML text, or at minimum supply a complete, accurate text alternative.

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