Did you know that over 1 billion people globally live with some form of disability?
If you’re not meeting accessibility standards, you’re not only limiting your reach but also excluding viewers who could become loyal followers.
In this guide, we’ll break down exactly how to make your videos accessible according to WCAG standards and best practices.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) offer official requirements for making video content accessible. Below are the key areas of focus for achieving WCAG compliance in video accessibilit :
For pre-recorded videos, WCAG requires captions to be accurate, synced with the audio, and to cover all spoken content and important sounds like music or sound effects. This ensures that users can follow the full context of what’s happening, even without sound.
When creating live video content, you must provide real-time captions. This is especially important for live events such as webinars, conferences, or broadcasts. WCAG's guideline (Success Criterion 1.2.4) makes live captioning a requirement for accessibility. While real-time captions may not be as accurate as pre-recorded ones, they should still capture all spoken words as closely as possible.
Audio descriptions help users who are blind or have low vision understand the visual parts of your video. They describe what’s happening on-screen, such as actions, scene changes, and important non-verbal elements. WCAG (Success Criterion 1.2.5) requires you to include these descriptions when the video has essential visual elements that aren’t obvious from the audio alone.
When your video has breaks in dialogue, you can insert these audio descriptions during those pauses to avoid overlapping with spoken content. However, if your video doesn’t have enough natural breaks, you might need to create a second version of the video with embedded descriptions to make sure the content is accessible to all.
Transcripts are text versions of your video’s content, including both spoken words and visual elements that are crucial to the understanding of the video. For users who are deaf-blind or those who prefer to read instead of watching, transcripts offer a complete alternative to consuming your content. WCAG requires you to provide both captions and transcripts for pre-recorded videos.
Additionally, transcripts can enhance your SEO, helping your content be more easily found online since search engines can index the text.
Ensuring that the video player you use is accessible is just as important as making the video content itself accessible. WCAG standards (Success Criterion 2.1.1) require that video players support keyboard navigation, meaning that users should be able to pause, play, and control volume without using a mouse. Additionally, screen readers need to be compatible with the player, allowing users who rely on assistive technology to navigate the controls easily.
You also need to ensure the video player supports captions, audio descriptions, and transcripts. Some players may not automatically display captions or allow users to adjust settings like caption size and color, which are crucial for accessibility.
Auto-play can cause issues for users, particularly those who use assistive technologies like screen readers. When videos start playing automatically, it can confuse users, disrupt their experience, and create a challenging environment for those who need to control the timing of content consumption. WCAG guidelines (Success Criterion 2.2.2) recommend avoiding auto-play unless there is an obvious, easy way to pause or stop the video immediately.
When it comes to video quality, resolution and clarity are essential for users with low vision. Make sure your video is in high resolution to allow users to see details clearly. If your video includes text, the text should be large enough to read and should contrast well with the background, meeting WCAG’s contrast ratio requirements (Success Criterion 1.4.3).
Transcripts provide a full text version of the spoken content in your video, including any essential sounds or actions. WCAG guidelines (Success Criterion 1.2.3) state that transcripts are especially important for people who are deaf-blind or use assistive technology like screen readers.
Transcripts are more than just a written version of the dialogue. They should also describe non-verbal elements, like sound effects or significant visual actions, that are necessary for understanding the content.
Color contrast and font choice are key elements of accessible video design. For users with low vision or color blindness, high-contrast color schemes help them distinguish text from the background. WCAG guidelines (Success Criterion 1.4.3) recommend a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 between text and background colors.
For example, using black text on a white background or yellow text on a dark background ensures readability. Avoid color combinations like light gray text on a white background, which can be hard for users to read.
Additionally, the font size should be large enough to be easily legible, and the font style should be simple and clear. Sans-serif fonts, such as Arial or Helvetica, are generally easier to read, especially for users with dyslexia or other reading impairments.
When using text overlays in videos, make sure they stay on-screen long enough for users to read, especially those who may need more time to process information.
Flashing or flickering content can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. WCAG (Success Criterion 2.3.1) strictly advises against including any content that flashes more than three times in a one-second period. This requirement is crucial for ensuring your videos are safe for everyone to view.
If flashing content is necessary for your video, make sure it adheres to the “three flashes or below” rule. If possible, provide a warning before the video starts, informing viewers that flashing content is included, or offer an alternative version without it.
Testing your videos with users who rely on assistive technologies is a critical step in ensuring accessibility. While following WCAG guidelines provides a solid foundation, real-world user testing can reveal specific issues you may not have anticipated.
You can conduct tests by inviting users with various disabilities to interact with your video content and provide feedback. This helps you understand how well your captions, audio descriptions, and video player settings work in practice. You should also test on multiple devices and browsers to ensure your videos are accessible across different platforms.
In addition to following WCAG guidelines, implementing extra best practices for video accessibility helps you create a more inclusive experience for all viewers :
Allow users to customize captions and subtitles. While WCAG mandates that captions must be available, giving viewers the option to adjust their appearance—such as changing the font size, color, and positioning—empowers them to personalize their viewing experience.
In addition to captions, offer sign language interpretation in your videos. Sign language interpretation is especially helpful in content that contains complex language or visual demonstrations that require additional explanation.
By including a sign language interpreter, you ensure that viewers who rely on this form of communication can follow the video more easily. You might position the interpreter in the corner of the screen, or, for longer videos, offer an alternative version of the video with sign language interpretation included.
While most modern video formats are supported by major platforms, you must still check that your content plays smoothly on various browsers, operating systems, and devices.
An accessible video should work seamlessly on mobile devices, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. Many users rely on mobile devices to consume content, and accessibility features such as captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions should function equally well across all platforms
Offering downloadable versions of your video in different resolutions or formats can also help those with varying bandwidths or device capabilities.
Offering multiple language subtitles is another effective way to expand accessibility and reach. Subtitles in different languages not only help non-native speakers understand your content but also make it more accessible to users who prefer reading over listening.
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