- Success Criterion 1.1.1
- Conformance level A
- W3C reference F71
Fancy Unicode Letters Used Instead of Real, Readable Text
1.1.1 — Non-text Content
Scenario
Setting
A dating app's profile setup
What’s wrong
Fancy Unicode 'font' characters are used to imitate styled text — screen readers can't read them as normal words.
Example
<img src="chart.png">Why it matters
Blind and low-vision people using screen readers, and anyone who browses with images disabled, when icons or photos carry meaning.
How to test
Copy suspect 'text' and paste it into a plain text editor: if it renders as unusual Unicode glyphs instead of normal letters, a screen reader will not read it as words.
How to fix
Use real text (or provide a text alternative) instead of Unicode look-alike glyphs.
<img src="chart.png" alt="Q3 revenue chart showing 12% growth">The alt attribute gives assistive technology the same information the image conveys visually.
Outcome
On a dating app's profile setup, this barrier is gone for blind and low-vision people using screen readers — they can finish what they came here to do.
Who is affected
Blind and low-vision people using screen readers, and anyone who browses with images disabled, when icons or photos carry meaning.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
- Technique Related technique (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Product Photo Added as a CSS Background With No Alt Text
- Chart Alt Text That Never Explains What Each Color Means
- Outdated Alt Text That No Longer Matches the Image
- Alt Text Left as a Filename Instead of a Real Description
- Decorative Image Not Hidden From Screen Reader Users
- Decorative Image Given Alt Text Instead of Being Marked Silent