Images on Ecommerce Site

Question

For ecommerce sites, when should images be coded as meaningful and when should they be coded as decorative?

Answer

It's difficult to make a general statement about whether images should be coded as meaningful or decorative since this decision is so dependent on context. Often, images on a product listing page can be coded as decorative so that users can navigate through all product listings quickly and efficiently. Then, on the product detail page if there are not sufficient details describing the product, the product image should be coded as meaningful. If all relevant information is included in the product description, the product image can be coded as decorative since it does not contain information that is not present elsewhere on the page.

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