Making Your Videos Accessible to Everyone: A WCAG Checklist for Video Players

Videos in 2024 have become one of the most engaging channels to connect with audiences. However, have you stopped to consider what if individuals who have certain visual or physical difficulties are not able to access these videos, you are loosing out on a huge potential audience of viewers. In order to avoid missing out on such opportunities, it is important to keep in mind the WCAG checklist to ensure that not only is your video plater compliant with standards, but also so that each individual has an enjoyable viewing experience.

Follow along as this guide walks you through the WCAG 2.0 AA compliance (web content accessibility guidelines), which is considered to be the minimum and most common accessibility benchmark.

WCAG Guidelines (2.0 level AA): Must-Haves for Your Video Player

Let's break down the key features your video player needs to meet WCAG AA standards:

Keyboard Can Do It All

Individuals with disabilities for preference’s sake prefer to use screen readers and require full and accessible control with their keyboards, as they may not be able to use their mouse. In simple words, this can be inferred as adjustments that need to be made in order to ensure that users have the flexibility to play, pause navigate the video and adjust volumes using keyboard keys, and keys such as the enter and space bar.

Clear and Present Controls

The second must have for your video player is that the control's discoverability is easy to comprehend and find. This can be done with the simple use of labels and representative icons that have adequate contrast and are visible against the selected backgrounds.

Captions, Not Decorations

For people with disabilities (hearing challenges), or even individuals watching videos in noisy environments, your video players must support captions with the flexibility of toggling them on or off. This makes your videos more accessible and enjoyable.

Focus, You're On Camera

In the case that individuals are engaging with your video content using the keyboard, elements that are of focus should be highlighted clearly. This allows for users to understand exactly which control they're about to toggle/activate.

Error Messages Make Sense

Make sure to use error messages. These messages should be able to highlight and explain the issue, along with possible solutions. This is primarily in the event something goes wrong while triggering the video playback.

Transcript Time

In order to offer users with a unique and enjoyable viewer experience, it is important to take into consideration providing transcripts alongside your videos. Transcripts can be understood as a text/visual representation of the video's audible content and is a go-to resource for individuals with hearing issues or preferences to read the information as compared to watching it.

Bonus Points: WCAG 2.0 AAA - Going the Extra Mile

The information above highlights the WCAG AA guidelines, which are considered to be the minimum standards required however, here are some additional features and elements that can be taken into consideration. In order to offer viewers with a deeper, more inclusive experience.

Sign Language Interpretation

In order to provide your viewers with the utmost accessibility options, think about providing sign language interpretations of your video content. This allows you to cater to those individuals who have hearing impairments or rely on sign language as standard means of communications.

Colour Contrast Champion

For text, WCAG AA needs a minimum colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1, while for larger texts, it is 3:1. aspects of the user interface. Up the stakes to 7:1 is WCAG AAA. This guarantees even greater visibility for those who are visually impaired.

Time Isn't Everything

If any of the tasks in your video content require completion within a certain amount of time, think about providing other options. This can entail giving alternatives that don't depend on precise timing or increasing constraints.

Remember, Testing is Crucial

After adding these functionalities, test your video player using real individuals with disabilities and accessibility tools. This guarantees that your solution genuinely benefits everyone.

Stay Up-to-date

The WCAG compliances are always changing (WCAG 2.2). Conform to WCAG standards and the most recent changes to guarantee that your video player will continue to function as technology advances.

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