WCAG 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded)

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OVERVIEW

Effort:

  • Complexity:Easy
  • Duration:Slow

Important for:

Content

What's it about?

Recorded videos need synchronized subtitles. Complete subtitles include not only spoken words but also human sounds such as laughter and important noises like music, if they are necessary to understand what is happening.

A video with captions

How to

Depending on your situation, you can implement one of the following options to meet the criterion. For a deeper dive, please refer to the linked WCAG techniques.

  • Closed captions

    Recommendation!

    Closed captions are subtitles that are uploaded to a video as a separate file. Users can turn them on whenever they need them.

    The biggest advantage of closed captions is that users can adapt them to their own needs. They can change the subtitle’s font size, font color, or background color.

    Technique(s):

    Two characters are talking in a video, accompanied by subtitles that can be customized.

  • Open (always visible) subtitles

    Open subtitles are “burned” directly into the video during production. They are permanently visible and cannot be turned on or off. Since this type of subtitle cannot be customized by the user, we do not recommend them.

    However, open subtitles are useful in situations where closed captions are not supported. On social media platforms, for example, videos often only allow open subtitles.

    Technique(s):

    Notes

    • Exception: Video is only a media alternative

      Videos that serve only as media alternatives do not require subtitles. It counts as a media alternative when all the video’s content is already explained in text. The video must not contain any information that is not also present in the text.

      Example: A video is simply an animated representation of a craft tutorial that has already been fully described in text.

      An illustration of a website showing a craft tutorial. The instructions are presented as text, and below them is a video that serves as an alternative to the text description.
          • Illustration of a glowing light bulb with a friendly, smiling expression.

            Hint: Be careful with automatically generated captions

            Always review automatically generated captions. Errors in captions can be confusing or, if things go badly, can completely change the meaning of a sentence.

            Example: “Eating this plant is a problem.” and “Eating this plant is (not) a problem.”, have a rather important difference!

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