# What is alt text?

Source: https://epublab.com/glossary/alt-text/ (updated 2026-11-03)

Alt text is a short text alternative for an image, written in the img element's alt attribute, that screen readers read aloud in place of the picture. Decorative images get an empty alt.

## Why it matters when you convert a PDF to EPUB

A PDF rarely carries usable alternative text for its images, and a converter cannot honestly write descriptions it does not know. The images in a converted EPUB keep whatever the PDF offers; good alt text still needs a person.