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Why are broken links highlighted in relation to the "longdesc" tag?

Modified on: Mon, 15 Jun, 2026 at 8:22 PM

Answer

Broken links are highlighted because the longdesc attribute must contain a valid hyperlink. If it does not, Siteimprove flags it as a broken link.

Summary

Broken links related to the longdesc tag occur when the attribute does not contain a valid URL linking to a detailed image description.

Overview

This article explains how the longdesc attribute works, why it may trigger broken link warnings, and recommended best practices for using it.

Question

Why are broken links highlighted in relation to the "longdesc" tag?

Answer

The longdesc attribute is used to specify a hyperlink to a detailed description of an image.

If the value of the string is not a hyperlink Quality Assurance will flag it as a broken link.

Here is an example of how the longdesc tag should be used.

<img src="image_dog.gif" longdesc="http://example.com/dog_description.html">

Further information on how to use the longdesc attribute is available at:

Consideration regarding the "longdesc" tag

The string should not contain only text.

If you want to use a short text description, use the “alt” attribute instead.

See Accessibility: Image Alt text best practices

We’d recommend avoiding the use of the longdesc tag as it may not be supported by all web browsers.

 

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