How to Build Accessible Video Experiences

Roughly 16% of the human population suffers from some form of long-term disability. If you include temporary disability like a broken arm, that number shoots up significantly. If your in-app video content isn't accessible, you're potentially excluding a large part of the population and missing an opportunity to create better experiences for everyone. As more people consume information through media, it is increasingly crucial to plan, organize, and ensure that video content is accessible. Accessible video expands the user base, enhances the experience for existing users, and ensures compliance with forthcoming accessibility laws. But what does accessibility mean in the context of video? Many teams struggle with where to start and find integrating inclusive practices challenging. This blog will break down the guidelines and considerations for building video experiences that people of all abilities can enjoy. Understanding Web Accessibility Accessibility is a broad topic and can be overwhelming for teams to plan for and implement. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international organization that creates web standards around accessibility, internationalization, and privacy. Through the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), they create and maintain a set of guidelines and resources known as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Organizations can use WCAG to benchmark their product's accessibility levels. Web accessibility, in particular, refers to how easy it is for people of all abilities to use a web-based product. Video accessibility refers to the same concept for audiovisual experiences. It includes a set of checks and guidelines designed to help determine what is objectively accessible for all audiences. The POUR principles At the heart of web accessibility is the idea that the web is for everyone, and everyone should be able to use it with as little friction as possible. WCAG has a lot of guidelines and rules, but these are the main principles informing the specific implementations: Perceivable User interfaces (UIs) and content should be seen, heard, understandable, or otherwise perceivable through multiple senses. For example, your UI should be usable by both sighted and non-sighted users. You can achieve this by developing your UI to make it easy for screen readers to scan and relay information back to blind users. Provide captions and transcripts as needed for video content to make it perceivable by those who cannot take in visual information. Here is an example of what captions look like: Other considerations for making your UI perceivable include making it responsive, handling zoom gracefully, and ensuring text is large enough and has enough contrast to increase readability. Operable User interfaces (UIs), content, and navigation should be usable through multiple input devices. For example, your UI should work as expected if the user interacts with it using a keyboard instead of a trackpad or voice command instead of a mouse. You can make your UI and apps operable by ensuring logical and consistent navigation. This way, users always know where they are on the site or product and can quickly skip links or return to a previous screen, as illustrated. Additionally, content should be searchable, and callouts and alerts should not have auto timeouts. Understandable User interfaces (UIs) and content should be easy for the primary audience to understand, regardless of their language proficiency or cognitive skills. The UI should follow established patterns to help users understand expected actions, and the content should use simple language and avoid jargon. For example, forms should have descriptive labels and helpful error messages, as illustrated. Large forms should be broken up into multi-step forms. Video content should use everyday language and explain abbreviations or jargon where necessary to use them. Other ways to increase your UI's understandability are to use consistent labeling for components across the app, avoid significant UI changes without alerting users, and give the users enough time before implementation. Robust User interfaces (UIs) should be as future-proof as possible. They should be compatible with current and future user tools. That is, they should work correctly across as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible while keeping up with future changes. This may sound complicated, but it comes down to using standard markup (HTML), standard web APIs, and giving names or titles when using a non-standard UI element. For example, use instead of styling a to look and work like a button. What to consider when building accessible video experiences When building accessible video experiences, there are certain aspects you need to pay particular attention to that are unique to audio-visual experiences. Video accessibility considerations are divided into the

Apr 28, 2025 - 18:08

How to Build Accessible Video Experiences

Roughly 16% of the human population suffers from some form of long-term disability. If you include temporary disability like a broken arm, that number shoots up significantly.

If your in-app video content isn't accessible, you're potentially excluding a large part of the population and missing an opportunity to create better experiences for everyone.

As more people consume information through media, it is increasingly crucial to plan, organize, and ensure that video content is accessible. Accessible video expands the user base, enhances the experience for existing users, and ensures compliance with forthcoming accessibility laws.

But what does accessibility mean in the context of video?

Many teams struggle with where to start and find integrating inclusive practices challenging. This blog will break down the guidelines and considerations for building video experiences that people of all abilities can enjoy.

Understanding Web Accessibility

Accessibility is a broad topic and can be overwhelming for teams to plan for and implement. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international organization that creates web standards around accessibility, internationalization, and privacy.

Through the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), they create and maintain a set of guidelines and resources known as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Organizations can use WCAG to benchmark their product's accessibility levels.

Web accessibility, in particular, refers to how easy it is for people of all abilities to use a web-based product. Video accessibility refers to the same concept for audiovisual experiences. It includes a set of checks and guidelines designed to help determine what is objectively accessible for all audiences.

The POUR principles

At the heart of web accessibility is the idea that the web is for everyone, and everyone should be able to use it with as little friction as possible. WCAG has a lot of guidelines and rules, but these are the main principles informing the specific implementations:

Perceivable

User interfaces (UIs) and content should be seen, heard, understandable, or otherwise perceivable through multiple senses. For example, your UI should be usable by both sighted and non-sighted users.

You can achieve this by developing your UI to make it easy for screen readers to scan and relay information back to blind users.

Provide captions and transcripts as needed for video content to make it perceivable by those who cannot take in visual information.

Here is an example of what captions look like:

Other considerations for making your UI perceivable include making it responsive, handling zoom gracefully, and ensuring text is large enough and has enough contrast to increase readability.

Operable

User interfaces (UIs), content, and navigation should be usable through multiple input devices. For example, your UI should work as expected if the user interacts with it using a keyboard instead of a trackpad or voice command instead of a mouse.

You can make your UI and apps operable by ensuring logical and consistent navigation. This way, users always know where they are on the site or product and can quickly skip links or return to a previous screen, as illustrated.

Additionally, content should be searchable, and callouts and alerts should not have auto timeouts.

Understandable

User interfaces (UIs) and content should be easy for the primary audience to understand, regardless of their language proficiency or cognitive skills.

The UI should follow established patterns to help users understand expected actions, and the content should use simple language and avoid jargon.

For example, forms should have descriptive labels and helpful error messages, as illustrated. Large forms should be broken up into multi-step forms. Video content should use everyday language and explain abbreviations or jargon where necessary to use them.

Other ways to increase your UI's understandability are to use consistent labeling for components across the app, avoid significant UI changes without alerting users, and give the users enough time before implementation.

Robust

User interfaces (UIs) should be as future-proof as possible. They should be compatible with current and future user tools. That is, they should work correctly across as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible while keeping up with future changes.

This may sound complicated, but it comes down to using standard markup (HTML), standard web APIs, and giving names or titles when using a non-standard UI element.

For example, use