--- title: "Does visual-only video content have an accessible alternative?" date: "2024-11-06T11:53:07+00:00" summary: "Ensure video-only content is accessible with text descriptions or audio alternatives for users with visual impairments." image: type: "page" url: "/web-governance/does-visual-only-video-content-have-accessible-alternative" id: "eb4a84b6-6e85-41af-9e42-9706ae98d7e2" --- Table of contents will be added 1.2.1 Audio-only and video-only (prerecorded) Introduction ------------ This document provides information about the Acquia Web Governance accessibility check: * Does visual-only video content have an accessible alternative? What ---- Video without audio must provide an accessible alternative. When a video does not contain sound, there must be a text description or an alternative audio track available. Why --- It is important to provide a text description or alternative audio track for video content without sound because it ensures that the information conveyed visually is accessible to all users, including those who are blind or have low vision. When a video lacks audio, people who cannot see the visual content miss out on key information. Offer a descriptive audio track or a text-based alternative to provide an equivalent experience for these users. Additionally, text alternatives can be rendered in various formats, such as braille or sign language, which makes the content accessible to a wider range of individuals with different sensory or cognitive needs.  Who --- ### Affected users This check affects individuals with * Blindness: Who use screen readers to access the text version of the video content. * Cognitive impairments: Who benefit from choosing the format that best suits their needs. ### User story ![Woman wearing a beige hijab smiles while looking down, with a blurred background.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/4373493e-e1fe-4824-b0f1-688cffd7f416/web/Mon_AccessibilityHelpCenter-UserStory-WomanWithHeadscarfOutside.png) Fatima is a 33-year-old woman from Morocco who lost her sight at the age of 12 due to a degenerative eye condition. She works as a radio presenter for a local station in Casablanca focusing on social and cultural issues. "_It is incredibly frustrating when I come across video content on websites that has no audio and no text alternative. As someone who relies on sound to understand and engage with content, it is like hitting a brick wall. Just last week, I was preparing for a segment on youth unemployment in Morocco, and there was a video on a government website showing key statistics and graphs. But there was no narration, no transcript, nothing I could use. All of that information was locked behind visuals I could not access. It is not just about my job either. I love following Andalusian music and cultural trends, but when music tutorials or interviews with artists are just purely visual, I feel like I am missing out. It is exhausting having to ask for help every time, when something as simple as a text description would let me do it on my own. It is like they are saying that my ability to participate does not matter._" Examples -------- This section provides some examples of the issue. ### Example: Video with visual-only content and no accessible alternative A government website provides a video that displays key statistics on youth unemployment and uses only visual elements like charts, graphs, and animations. The video contains no audio or accompanying text description, and relies entirely on visuals to present the information. ![A media player on a website is playing a video. The video shows charts related to unemployment rates in Europe. There is no text alternative.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/18fc8bca-ee91-4019-9365-7bc5de0dade7/web/WebGov_AccessibilityGuide-Example-VideoWithNoAccessibleAlternative.png) This is a problem for blind users who do not have access to the information conveyed in the video. Without an alternative text description or audio track explaining the visual content, the information remains inaccessible to those who cannot see the video. #### Example: Video with visual-only content and an accessible text alternative A government website provides a video that displays key statistics on youth unemployment using only visual elements like charts, graphs, and animations. The video includes no audio, but underneath, there is an expandable text section that allows users to access the same information presented in the video as text or table data. ![A media player on a website is playing a video. The video shows charts related to unemployment rates in Europe. A button with the label "View text version" is showing under the media player, providing the visitor an option to view a transcript of the video's audio track.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/730f8d2a-178d-42f0-a792-3fd6f7a1242d/web/Mon_AccessibilityHelpCenter-Example-VideoWithAccessibleTextAlternative.png) Blind or visually impaired users who rely on screen readers can easily navigate to the text section and receive the same information that sighted users get from the video. This ensures that users have access to the critical data, regardless of their ability to view the visual content. How --- This section provides instructions on how to identify, review, and fix the issue. ### How to identify it The Acquia Web Governance platform highlights non-streaming video elements in the code. ### How to review it Assess the video elements to determine if there is an accessible alternative to the visual video content. Ask yourself the following questions: * Does the video contain an audio track that describes the visual content? * Is there an alternative audio track available that describes the visual content? * Is there a text transcript or text alternative available that conveys the visual content in text? * Is the video only there to function as a media alternative to the text information on the page. If you can answer _yes_ to one of the questions above, mark this check as _Reviewed_. For further instructions, visit [How to review an accessibility issue](/web-governance/how-review-accessibility-issue "How to review an accessibility issue"). ### How to fix it If you could not answer _yes_ to any of the questions above, you must add a text or audio alternative to your video content and then mark this issue as _Reviewed_. For further instructions, visit [How to review an accessibility issue](/web-governance/how-review-accessibility-issue "How to review an accessibility issue"). Additional resources -------------------- ### WCAG success criteria [1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/audio-only-and-video-only-prerecorded.html) ### ACT rules Related accessibility conformance testing rules. [Video element visual-only content has accessible alternative.](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/act/rules/c3232f/proposed/)