Audio Description (Prerecorded) - WCAG AA

Why it matters

While 1.2.3 allows a text alternative, this criterion requires actual audio descriptions for AA compliance, providing a richer experience for blind users.

Common violations

Videos meeting only the 1.2.3 text alternative requirement
Audio descriptions that miss important visual details
Descriptions that talk over dialogue
Videos with no pauses for description narration

Code examples

Bad

<!-- Video with text transcript only -->

Good

<video controls>
  <source src="main.mp4">
  <track kind="descriptions" src="audio-desc.vtt" srclang="en">
</video>

How to fix

Create audio description tracks that fit within natural pauses. For videos with few pauses, consider extended audio descriptions that pause the video.

Related criteria

1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)

Related resources

Spotify accessibility score Netflix accessibility score Twitch accessibility score WordPress accessibility guide Shopify accessibility guide Squarespace accessibility guide

Test & fix this criterion

Use these free tools and guides to check and fix 1.2.5 Audio Description (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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