client-side image maps

Why do client-side image maps provide better accessibility?

Unlike server-side image maps, the client-side image map allow an author to assign text to each image map “hot spots.” This feature means that someone using a screen reader can easily identify and activate regions of the map. An explanation of how these image maps are constructed will help clarify this issue.

Creating a basic client-side image map requires several steps:

* Identify an image for the map. First, an image must be used in a client-side image map. This image is identified using the img tag. To identify it as a map, use the "usemap" attribute.
* Use the MAP tag to "areas" within the map . The MAP tag is a container tag that includes various tags that are used to identify specific portions of the image.
* Use AREA tags to identify map regions . To identify regions within a map, simply use AREA tags within the MAP container tags. Making this client-side image map accessible is considerably easier to describe: simply include the "ALT" attribute and area description inside each AREA tag.