You need a label for them anyway for people who use screen readers. And depending on how the label is implemented, tools can sometimes translate the labels like how they can translate the rest of the site
Alt and title attributes for screen readers don’t require space. Actual labels require space that might vary greatly depending on the language.
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Takes less screen space than e.g.
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It is still doable, of course. It is just another thing one must account for. Languages that read from right to left or top to bottom are especially hard to implement in a satisfying manner, if you’re not used to it. With icons one can somewhat circumvent the issue.
Internationalization. Don’t have to get icons translated (most of the time), and they always take the same amount of space.
You need a label for them anyway for people who use screen readers. And depending on how the label is implemented, tools can sometimes translate the labels like how they can translate the rest of the site
Alt and title attributes for screen readers don’t require space. Actual labels require space that might vary greatly depending on the language.
Home | Products | About | Privacy
Takes less screen space than e.g.
Startseite | Produkte | Über uns | Datenschutz
It is still doable, of course. It is just another thing one must account for. Languages that read from right to left or top to bottom are especially hard to implement in a satisfying manner, if you’re not used to it. With icons one can somewhat circumvent the issue.