logo alt text

Hi @shaunshaun
In Settings > General you should see an option to set the site title and the site tagline. Is this what you’re after?

Hannah

No. I see that the alt text for the main image is the site’s title. But that isn’t what alt text is for. Alt text is to describe the image so that those who can’t see it- for example blind people using a screen reader- get the image described to them.

So for example with my site https://www.IvyStandup.com the site title is The Ivy League of Comedy (the name of the organization) but the main image alt text should be something like “photo of Shaun Eli and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno” because that’s what the image is.

Looks like that text is pulling from a text widget in your topbar widget area. Are you adding that there (in Appearance > Widgets)?

Hannah

I don’t see a widget for either topbar or anything about alt text or main image.

Oops. I take that back. I found the topbar widget- it was all the way on the right, mixed in with all my sidebars.

I changed it but it didn’t make a difference. In the codes it shows it as a text widget but the alt text still shows the name of the site.

Is there no way to change the alt text on the main image without renaming the whole website? I am aiming for 100% accessibility for the vision and hearing impaired, which requires correct alt text for all images.

Sorry, I’m not sure what exactly you’re asking. Where exactly are you wanting the alt text to show? You can add your alt text to the site tagline area in Theme Options > Main Settings. Are you wanting to keep the text in your topbar?
Sorry for misunderstanding.

Hannah

The alt text doesn’t show up if you just look at the site. It’s visible only if you have images turned off, or are using a screen reader to speak the page out loud.

Hey,
Because the logo is usually a representation of the site title or site name it made some sense at the time when this time was created to have it default to the site title. But I take your point it should first check if the image has alt text and if it doesn’t add in the site title, This change was made in the pro theme quite some time ago.

I’ll put this on my list of the next free virtue theme update.

Ben

That is great to hear. Thanks!

One other thing my consultant has identified as an issue and I can’t figure out how to change, is:
Drop-down menu vs. hover menu.
I have a couple of menu items that have sub-menus. So when you hover the mouse over them, it opens up and shows the pages below.
That works fine for people who can see. But for people using a screen reader it’s an issue as they try to click on the main menu item and nothing happens (because it’s not a separate web page). He suggests making it a clickable item that when clicked shows the pages below to be clicked on. For example if you go to Amazon and shop for shoes, under Size you click on Select and a menu opens. But hovering doesn’t do that.
I can’t figure out a way to change a menu item with a sub-menu from hover to drop-down. Is there a way?

I would say this is the fault of the screen reader and not WordPress or your theme, but it seems like all screen readers are coded to work this way.

Hey,
There isn’t a theme option for a menu like that but there are menu plugins perhaps you can try one of those. I’m not sure of which would offer the type you want.

Ben

Thanks. I tried Max Mega Menu. Working live with my consultant we found a setting that worked. Then it changed all the other menu settings (color, size, etc.). Weird that it used its own default instead of copying what was already in the coding. Then I did something that I thought turned it off but it gave me exactly what I wanted- my old menu stuff but with the right coding for screen readers.

Problem solved!