captiondescription

Captiondescription is a term used in information management to denote a field that stores both a short caption and a longer descriptive text for media items. It is not a standard HTML attribute; rather, it is a data field used in content management systems and databases to consolidate caption and description.

In practice, a captiondescription can be stored as a single string with a delimiter or as a structured object with separate caption and description subfields. It provides quick captioning alongside extended context, which can aid users and automated systems in understanding the media.

Regarding accessibility and metadata, captiondescription should not replace accessible alternatives such as alt text or figure captions read by assistive technologies. When used in structured data, it can improve indexing and discovery by search engines if the caption and description are clearly labeled and machine-readable.

Designers should consider localization, consistency, and data integrity. Choosing between a single field or a nested structure depends on the hosting system, API requirements, and how the text will be consumed by clients. For accessibility and clarity, it is common to separate concerns by keeping a dedicated caption for display and a longer description for context, while captiondescription may be used for storage or transmission of both together when appropriate.

See also: caption, description, figcaption, longdesc, alt text, metadata, schema.org.