Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) - WCAG A

Why it matters

Blind and low-vision users cannot see visual information in videos. Audio descriptions narrate important visual details during natural pauses.

Common violations

Training videos with visual demonstrations but no description
Product demos that show UI without describing actions
Educational content where visual graphics are not described
No text alternative summarizing video content

Code examples

Bad

<video controls>
  <source src="product-demo.mp4">
</video>

Good

<video controls>
  <source src="product-demo.mp4">
  <track kind="descriptions" src="demo-descriptions.vtt" srclang="en" label="Audio descriptions">
</video>

How to fix

Add audio description tracks that narrate visual information, or provide a complete text transcript including visual descriptions alongside the video.

Related criteria

1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)

Related resources

WordPress accessibility guide Shopify accessibility guide Squarespace accessibility guide

Test & fix this criterion

Use these free tools and guides to check and fix 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) violations:

Free accessibility checker — find WCAG violations automatically Color contrast checker — test contrast ratios How to fix common WCAG failures Top 10 most common WCAG failures

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