Videos about accessibility

Digital technology has created amazing opportunities for communicating, sharing information, and banking and shopping.

But users of your digital technologies have different needs. Keep this variety in mind, otherwise millions of people will find it hard or impossible to use your content – people you want to reach.

Accessibility is important to at least 60% of your audience and getting it right means you’ll build something that is better for everyone, so it’s good for business!

Digital accessibility is also a regulatory requirement. There have been legal cases launched against websites that exclude users, who may be colour-blind, or have impaired use of arms or hands, cognitive differences, or visual or hearing impairments.

It’s best to think about accessibility from the start of a project. Here are some tips.

Tip 1

If you are commissioning an app, software or website, make accessibility part of the contract – refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2 (WCAG 2.0) and British Standard 8878.

Ideally, include disabled users in your testing.

Tip 2

If you are using an online platform to create your website, use ‘accessible’ themes and plugins, and keep the following in mind:

Tip 3

Design pages so that users may customise their experience of them – changing colours, the size of text or buttons.

Use responsive layouts that will work on different devices

Tip 4

Always let users know where they are and how they get to somewhere else.

Create alternative routes to suit different requirements, like a ‘skip to main content’ link.

Tip 5

Make sure that every action that can be performed using a mouse can be achieved using the keyboard alone.

Keyboard-only users need to see where they are at all times when they navigate using the tab key, and tabbing should follow a logical order.

Test how easy it is to navigate using only the tab, enter, space and arrow keys.

Tip 6

Ever get frustrated by moving objects, adverts popping up? It isn’t just annoying- flashing content can cause seizures, while some people with cognitive impairments find it really hard to concentrate if there are distractions.

Give the user control – provide a pause button and don’t set audio or video to play automatically.

Tip 7

Choose a video player that allows you to add captions and provide a text transcript to make audio and video content accessible.

Include descriptions of any important visual information as well as speech.

Tip 8

If an image is important, contains text or is a link, explain this with ‘alternative text’ that screen reader software can read out to users with visual impairments.

Tip 9

Is your text in easy-to-understand language?

Use short, simple sentences to aid readability and engage a wider audience.

Tip 10

Give each page a title, and organise the text using headings, paragraphs and lists.

Add ‘mark up’ to enable easier navigation and explain features to people who can’t see them – this applies to documents in Word or PDFs as well as web pages.

Tip 11

Make sure that links stand out clearly from surrounding text and let users know if the link will open in a new window or download a document.

Links need to be concise and descriptive, so that if they are read on their own, people will still know where they go.

Tip 12

Test text and background colour combinations and contrast online to ensure text can be easily read by people who are colour-blind or have impaired vision.

If your webpage ‘times out’ before people are able to complete forms, this can be a very frustrating experience.

Tip 13

Give visitors time to extend their session if they wish.

Tip 14

Explain accessibility improvements you’ve made, and why, in an accessibility statement and provide easy ways for people to contact you if they are having difficulty.

Tip 15

Spam protection like CAPTCHA may shut out potential customers not just spam robots.

Please use alternatives, such as text-based logic problems, or simple human user confirmations.

Let’s make sure digital technologies are as usable and inclusive as possible.

We will all benefit!

This video can’t cover everything, and technology and best practice are always evolving.

For more help and information go to citizensonline.org.uk/accessibilitytips.

Thanks to the Digital Accessibility Centre [digitalaccessibilitycentre.org], DIG Inclusion [diginclusion.com] and the Fix the Web Steering group [fixtheweb.net] for this animation, made by Tinmouse.

Some people with disabilities may use assistive technology or AT to access content or perform tasks. This can be any equipment, software, or product that is used to increase, maintain, or improve a person’s functional capabilities.

There’s a wide variety of AT products and applications that enable people to improve their ability to access technology.

AT doesn’t necessarily need to be high tech or expensive.

Did you know that if you are wearing glasses, you are using AT? Do you use post it notes to help with reminders?

These are both inexpensive tools that can help improve your ability to perform a task and can be used by people with and without disabilities.

Sumitra, an engineer at Microsoft, uses JAWS, a third-party screen reader that works with Windows, to navigate her computer. Using the keyboard, JAWS allows Sumitra to hear everything on the screen as she navigates. She uses JAWS to help code, read and edit documents and emails, and much more.

And Jackson, a technical program manager at Microsoft, uses Magnifier built right into Windows 10 to enlarge text on the screen, making it easier to complete tasks and thrive in the workplace.

Jackson also uses additional Windows 10 features in the Ease of Access centre, including enlarging his mouse pointer so he can locate it on the screen more easily, text cursor indication to help locate the small blinking cursor, and colour filters to adjust colour schemes when he has eye fatigue.

Assistive technology comes in many forms and can be personalised to fit the person’s preferences and needs.

Did you know that 15% of the world’s population according to the World Health Organization live with some kind of disability? That’s over 1 billion people and they are potentially not able to use your website unless you have made it easily accessible to them.

Digital accessibility is about providing equal access and opportunity to people of all abilities and disabilities. That includes visual, hearing and physical impairments, but also cognitively challenged people, the elderly and other less obvious groups.

Simply put, it’s making websites simple and usable for everyone across all devices.

This simple idea is recognised by the United Nations as a basic human right.

It’s not difficult to build accessible websites and doing so is a great way to take social responsibility and improve your business at the same time.

When sites are accessibility optimised’ they are easier to navigate and simpler to understand for all users. Accessible websites are also found easier by search engines.

All in all, it’s positive for everyone.

Accessible websites work like a magnet on people with disabilities simply because they can be accessed. Many websites neglect this and this means they are turning down what could have been loyal customers or users.

Also, making your website accessible doesn’t strictly mean catering to the disabled. It also means catering to an increasing number of senior citizens. By 2020, the share of people over 65 will reach nearly 30% in Japan, 20% in Europe, and 16% in the U.S. This is definitely something worth paying attention to because seniors are a segment with strong purchasing power.

Accessibility is increasingly also a necessity from a regulatory point of view. In fact, many countries around the world are introducing or tightening existing laws that make accessibility a mandatory focus. Some even enforce this with fines.

At Siteimprove, we can help you make sure everyone experiences your website the way they were meant to. Let’s build a better web for all. Siteimprove: a better web for all.

What is WCAG and why is it important?

An introduction to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

The power of the web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.

In this video, we will present the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, sometimes known as W.C.A.G. or wuh-kag for short.

We will introduce the conformance levels and the 4 principles that govern WCAG 2.1.

At the end, we will also give some examples of the guidelines in WCAG 2.1.

Let’s start! Web Content Accessibility Guidelines cover the information in a website including text, images, forms and other media.

WCAG started out as some basic requirements for accessible content. As needs and technologies have changed, updated versions have been released.

Version 2.0 is incorporated by reference into other standards, primarily at government level.

Version 2.1 builds on this with 17 further success criteria, including mobile interfaces, supporting cognitive impairments, responsive design and supporting users with low vision.

The WCAG guidelines are organised around 3 levels of conformance: level A, level AA, and level AAA.

Level AA is the most common level specified in government and organisational standards and requirements. It is also the common level specified in lawsuits, settlements and structured agreements.

4 core principles

The guidelines are organised around 4 core principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. If any of these are not met, users with disabilities will be unable to use a site or application.

Perceivable

Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented. It cannot be invisible to all of their senses.

Operable

User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface and its controls. The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform.

Understandable

Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable. This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface. The content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding.

Robust

Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance. As technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible.

Guidelines

Each of these 4 principles has a corresponding set of guidelines. There are 12 in total for WCAG 2.0 and 13 in total for WCAG 2.1, including text alternatives, time-based media, adaptable, distinguishable, keyboard accessible, enough time, seizures, navigable, input modalities, readable, predictable, input assistance, and compatibility.

Each guideline has success criteria which address important access issues that specifically impact people with disabilities. They are all testable and for either A, AA, or AAA Conformance Level.

Let’s summarise! WCAG is a standard that defines how to make web pages accessible. It is broken into 4 principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. The success criteria that make up the guidelines are organised by these principles.

Each success criterion’s level of conformance is defined by A, AA, or AAA. Government and corporate requirements generally adhere to AA conformance.

Congratulations! You have reached the end of this introductory video on WCAG.

How to publish accessible documents

If you’re designing documents for people to read on screen, using HTML is often the best choice over PDFs or Microsoft Word and PowerPoint documents.

What is HTML?

HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is a coding language used to create web pages.

Instead of needing to open an attachment, your content is right there on the page, making it easier to find, easier to use, and much more accessible.

Wwhy does HTML win?

HTML pages come with big advantages:

• they show up higher in search results
• they resize automatically to any screen size
• they work much better with assistive technology, helping users with disabilities access them
• it’s easier to track and understand what users are doing, and where they’re going.

Can you print HTML pages?

Yes!

PDFs were often the chosen option when people needed documents in a format they could print.

However, HTML pages now print in much the same way as a PDF would.

The problem with PDFs

PDFs are difficult to make accessible and user-friendly in the same way as HTML.

They don’t have many accessibility tools, like allowing readers to change colours or font size.

They are harder to read and have problems with zoom, scrolling and navigating, especially on a mobile.

They open in new tabs or apps to your website, making it harder for users to navigate back.

They can be shared by users even when they’re out of date.

What if you really need to publish a PDF?

Sometimes you might still need to publish PDFs, like for official parliamentary documents.

If so, you should make sure to create the PDF from an accessible template, for example, a Microsoft Word document with correct hierarchy and structure.

You should also provide an HTML version or summary alongside the PDF.

Here’s an example of this.

The PDF is available on the page, but the contents of the PDF are also provided in an HTML format.

In summary, HTML pages are far more accessible than other document types.

So next time you need to publish a document, why not try an HTML page?

Why a heading structure is important

Hi, everyone. Today we’re covering headings. Headings help everyone consume your content. Visual users and screen reader users scan headings to find what they’re looking for. On top of that, most screen reader users also use headings to navigate web pages. So your heading structure is important to help all your users quickly understand what your content is about, how it’s organised, and find the information they’re looking for.

In this video, we’ll start with learning what a heading structure is. Next, we’ll go over tips for creating a heading structure. We’ll end by reviewing mistakes to avoid.

What a heading hierarchy is

Headings organise the content on a page. A heading hierarchy, or heading structure, is the flow of all the headings used to organise that content. Most heading structures should start with a heading 1 and only use one h1 on the page. From there, heading 2s organise the main points that go with the heading 1. Under h2s, heading 3s can organise main points that go with the h2 they’re underneath. There are heading 4s, 5s, and 6s. But most pages only use h1 through h3. More complex topics could benefit from additional heading levels though.

Heading structure example

Let’s review an example of this. Here’s a page about baking chocolate chip cookies. If I write out the heading hierarchy of this page, it’d be like this:

• the heading one is ‘Making chocolate chip cookies’ – this summarises all the content on the page
• next is the heading 2, ‘Recipe’.
• under ‘Recipe’, are 2 heading 3s, ‘Ingredients’ and ‘Instructions’.
• and lastly, there’s another heading 2, ‘Notes’.

Each heading describes the content beneath it, which makes it easier for a user to read and use the content.

Imagine this page had no h2s or h3s. The user then has to read the content to first make sense of what it is and where the different information is. Then they could actually use it to meet their goals.

With headings, users can go straight to scanning to meet their goals.

Tips for creating a heading structure

Now, let’s go over the tips for creating a heading structure.

Before you write your content, write out your heading structure. This should basically be an outline of what you’re writing since your headings would be key points you want to cover. Most likely, you’ll end up re-wording some headings and removing or adding some too, and that’s okay.

When writing your heading outline, here are questions to help you know when to make a new subheading.

First, is this a new idea or topic within the heading level above it? If so, is there enough content to support a new subheading? You usually want 1 to 3 paragraphs under a heading.

Second, does my previous heading have too much content? Should it be broken up into subheadings? You want to avoid walls of text. If there’s multiple topics in one section of text, a heading can be a great way to break up that wall.

And lastly, should this idea or topic stand out in the content? A heading can help emphasise content for visual and assistive technology users. When asking yourself these questions, you’ll come up with a heading structure that benefits users helping them scan and navigate pages, so they’re able to find what they need.

Accessibility mistakes to avoid

Let’s end with mistakes to avoid. These mistakes can make your heading structure inaccessible to screen reader users.

First, don’t use headings to create spacing on a page. This makes an empty heading. Empty headings don’t have any content in them. For visual users, it looks like a space. But since it still has the heading styling, screen reader users now have an empty heading added to their page structure when they navigate. This can be confusing and frustrating especially if there are a lot of them.

Next, make sure your headings follow a logical flow when descending heading levels. Basically, we don’t want to skip a heading level. For example, a logical flow is going from an h2 to an h3. A skipped heading is going from an h2 to h4. Going from h4 back to h2 is not a skipped heading.

Assistive technology announces the heading level, so a skipped heading can be confusing because it can make it seem like a heading and its content was missed.

Lastly, always use heading styling or the heading HTML tag to create headings. This adds HTML code that actually makes the heading a heading. When it has that code, assistive technology knows it’s a heading so screen reader users can access it using heading keyboard shortcuts and lists. If it just looks like a heading because it’s bolded and the text is larger, assistive technology won’t recognise it as a heading. It would just be more body text, so it wouldn’t be navigable using heading keyboard shortcuts or lists.

Now you know what a heading structure is, questions to help you create that heading structure, and mistakes to avoid. You’re ready to create better heading structures in your own content.

Images can serve many different purposes, from simple decoration to visuals of complex processes. Using them in your online learning content can be a great way to create visual representations of your subject matter.

An important consideration when inserting images into your content is how you’ll make them available to someone who is unable to see them.

When provided with a text representation of an image, many people with sight impairments have the ability to visualise the graphic.

A text representation of an image is another way to say an image is alternative text.

Many text editors provide a place for you to replace an image with alternative text. The image will remain visible in your content, but the text representation will be available to those who need it the most.

When it’s time to write alternative text, simply think about the context of the image within your content.

For example, consider this image of a beekeeper.

3 questions to consider are:

• Am I using this image basically as decoration?
• Is the image a visual example of something I described thoroughly in the typed content?
• Do I intend for the image to provide additional information to supplement a point I made in the content?

My approach to writing the alternative text will differ depending upon the context of how I use the image. Let’s take a closer look at each of these situations.

Here, the beekeeper image is just a decorative visual. I added it to the end of this document because I mentioned beekeeping as a hobby I’d like to explore. In this instance, the image doesn’t need much. If the decorative image were removed, the quality of the content won’t degrade. So the alternative text could simply be a couple of words to state what’s in the image. I think ‘Beekeeper collecting wax from a hive’ will suffice.

When a vision-impaired learner hears this alternative text, it will be clear that there’s no important learning content to be gleaned from the image.

Let’s take a look at the images on this page.

Leading up to these images, the topic has been an overview of precautions to take while beekeeping, and in the previous paragraph I talked about what should be worn for safety when working around the hives.

These 2 images are examples of safety clothing. They are visual examples of something I described thoroughly in the previous content. So each of their alternative text will represent an overview of what is seen in the pictures.

For example, to address the first image, I could type, ‘Beekeeper wearing a hat and veil, a one-piece long-sleeved jumpsuit and plastic gloves.’

For the second image, I could type, ‘Beekeeper wearing hat and screen, a one-piece long-sleeved jumpsuit and plastic gloves.’

Let’s see if we can apply what we’ve learned so far.

Here I’ve displayed an image of Nikola Tesla near a list of a few of his inventions. Would this be considered a decorative image or an example image?

To answer that, remember to think about the context of the image. In this case, if I removed the image of Mr. Tesla, the content would not suffer. So this is a decorative image. For its alternative text I would type ‘Nikola Tesla.’

Let’s change the context so that the image is an example of one of Mr. Tesla’s inventions.

Because it is now an example, we’ll type as our alternative text an overview of what’s seen in the image, ‘A Tesla coil expending electrical current.’

Finally, there may be times when you’ll need an image to supplement your content. Its purpose will be to accompany a point made in the content and to provide additional information.

Let’s return to the image of the beekeeper collecting wax.

Let’s say that the topic of this lecture is a discussion on beehive management. I’m using this image because it helps students visualise a point I made about the number of beehives that can be economically viable in one location.

The context of this image is neither a decoration, nor an example. In this context, it is some of the content, so it will require a longer description so my students can learn what I intend for them to learn from it.

The long description should be a part of the lecture content, so all of the students can benefit from it. So I’ll type it near the image.

Here’s another example of an image requiring a long description because it is content. The image demonstrates the life cycle of a deer tick as it depends on the life cycle of the white footed mouse. So I wrote a long description of the process under the image.

Images that you’ve written a long description for will still need an alternative text.

We’ll treat the alternative text for this life cycle image as we would an example image. I’ll type, ‘Parasitic life cycle of the deer tick as it relies on the life cycle of the white footed mouse.’

Deciding to use images is a great way to help students visualise your content.

Alternative text is required for all images and a long description should be provided when the context of the image requires it.

Screen reader users often navigate a page or document using links. The screen reader will read out the links on the page, but not the text surrounding it. This means the link text needs to clearly say where the link is going, rather than just saying ‘click here’, which means nothing to the user.

You can see some examples here which have lots of ‘click here’ links which will need to be replaced as they don’t make sense on their own.

In this example, rather than linking the words ‘click here’, we’ve linked the words ‘tips for managing anxiety’. That clearly tells the user where they are going.

In the second example, we’ve highlighted the keywords which is ‘Joe Wicks’ PE at home videos’, which is clear enough. 

In the third example, rather than ‘watch it here’, which for someone using a screen reader they don’t know what they’re watching, we’ve highlighted ‘Electric Umbrella have an online TV show’. 

In the third example, instead of ‘ideas here’, we’ve highlighted what the ideas are. So, ‘arts and crafts to do if you’re blind or partially sighted’. 

In the final sentence, we’ve linked the words ‘contact us’ so again if anyone using a screen reader clicks on that link, they know they are going to a contact page.

Most writers know the value of clear and concise writing. But why is it especially important for accessibility?

For some readers, such as those with cognitive or visual impairments, clear and concise writing makes an even bigger difference: dense text, acronyms, jargon, and metaphors can make documents and interfaces especially difficult to read.

For example, in an online recipe, spelling out “ounces” and “tablespoons” is one way to make the recipe easier to read and more screen reader-friendly.

Let’s look at some other ways to make text clear and concise.

What if you came across an online recipe with this introductory sentence? “One of many delicious lunch recipes to keep in your back pocket for an al fresco meal is this option that can be made ready ASAP: the Greek salad.”

Can you identify accessibility issues with this sentence? Pause the video and reflect.

The sentence is long and wordy, and the main point is at the very end. Here’s a version that’s clearer and more accessible: “A Greek salad is an easy and delicious lunch.” This version eliminates wordy phrases and passive voice, such as “one of many,” and “can be made ready.”

Also, the main point is first: “A Greek salad.” This way readers know immediately what you’re talking about.

Finally, this version doesn’t have metaphors or acronyms that could be difficult to localise or understand, such as “in your back pocket” and “ASAP.”

In a product interface, here’s an example of text that could be challenging: “Encryption cannot be performed because the primary key version for the key has been destroyed. Create a new key version and make it primary to encrypt the data.”

There are several reasons this text could be challenging for a reader with a cognitive impairment or for a screen reader user.

How would you make this text clearer and simpler? Pause the video here to reflect.

Here’s a more accessible version. “To encrypt data with this key, create a new version and make it primary.”

In this revised sentence, we:

• eliminated repetition
• removed unnecessary complexity
• placed the objective first
• changed passive voice to active voice

In addition to making content more accessible, clarity makes content easier to internationalise and localise. Clear, simple text lets your audience focus on learning, rather than deciphering what you’re trying to say.

This guideline applies to all writing, but it’s particularly important for accessibility.

Visit goo.gle/accessible-content to learn more about this and other accessibility writing tips.

Let’s go over 10 ways to make videos more accessible. 

Did you know over 3.7 million videos are uploaded to YouTube alone every day? That’s a lot of videos and unfortunately many of them are not accessible to me as a blind person.

But video accessibility is not just for people who are blind but for people who are deaf or dyslexic or somebody who has seizures, and really accessibility is for everybody.

I’m Carrie on Accessibility and I talk about technology and accessibility. If you’re interested in that type of video, hit the ‘Subscribe button’ and the bell so you can stay up to date on all the latest videos. Before we go on, this video has been brought to you by the Carry On Accessibility YouTube and Patreon members.

Whether you’re a business, organisation, creator or just a friend who wants to make a video, keep these 10 things in mind.

Number 1: describe what’s going on in a video

This is usually called audio description. So if your cat jumps down or if there’s a product that’s showing up on screen describe what’s going on so that somebody who’s totally blind can understand the video.

Typically when people think of audio description they think of different shows that have a separate track, “Pointy-eared children play a game.” Like different streaming services Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon, Prime Video, they have audio description that you can turn on and off. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated.

Imagine it was a podcast and people are listening and they don’t have access to the video. Do they have enough information to understand what’s going on? That’s the important part. If you’re a business and organisation who serves the blind community, be sure not to create or share videos like this cooking video that only has music in the background.

Number 2: add captions

This is extremely important for somebody who is deaf. It’s also important for people who may not be familiar with the language, or may have trouble processing audio, and it’s a lot easier for them to read. 

Be careful with automatic captions because they are not enough. They get things very wrong. If you are familiar with dictation and all the mistakes it can make, that’s what auto-captions can do and sometimes it can be even worse. It also does not add punctuation. 

Most platforms allow you to manually type your captions but you don’t have to do this; some of them autogenerate and then you can just make sure to edit it. You can also hire a captioning service, like rev.com or there’s many other captioning services out there. Or you can even use AI, like Whisper. While you still need to go back and edit it, it’s going to be so much better than auto-captions.

Number 3: provide transcripts

This goes hand in hand with captions. Some platforms already have that built in, but especially if you’re a business or educational organisation, sometimes people process text better than audio or video. And sometimes people who use Braille displays or who are deafblind, it’s easier to use a transcript. And it can be more accessible than close captions. Sometimes a screen reader can’t read that.

Number 4: reduce of remove flashing or flickering

Reduce or remove flashing or flickering especially no more than 3 per second, because this can cause seizures. 

I think a lot of people know that this can cause seizures, but another reason why you should reduce flashing and flickering is for people with low vision or who are light sensitive. This can cause a lot of glare on our eyes and it’s really uncomfortable and can cause eye strain and eye pain.

Number 5: ensure that the video has clear audio

That includes making sure that there’s not too too much background music or background sounds. Making sure your environment is conducive for people to understand what you’re saying and what your message is.

But also make sure that your microphone and your equipment have good enough clarity so that your voice can really be understood. This can also include how you speak. Don’t talk too fast because sometimes that can be hard to understand. This is really important for people who are hearing impaired and people who rely on the audio instead of the video. 

Additionally, if someone’s using an interpreter, this makes their experience much better.

Number 6: give viewers enough time to view content

If you want to show something that’s on your computer or some b-roll, don’t make it too fast. You want to give users enough time to look at it, or at the very least pause the video so that they can take a longer closer look at what whatever it is that you’re showing. And also if somebody’s blind, they can pause and take a screenshot and send that to a friend or an AI so they can have more information about it.

This can be a real struggle when people just put something on the screen for like less than a second. It just flashes on the screen. And I have to rewind, and try to pause right on the specific time so that I can see and read what’s on the screen. That’s just really hard and not a great experience.

Number 7: double check your lighting and contrast

Really dark scenes can be challenging for somebody with low vision to see and interpret visually. And if you have titles on the screen, make sure that whatever colour you’re using has enough contrast.

If the background on the video changes a lot put a background behind the title so that there’s enough contrast for users and viewers to read.

Number 8: choose easy to read fonts

I know that elaborate, pretty, cursive fonts are really nice but they are really hard to read and take a long time to try to understand. The easiest fonts to read are Sans Serifs, so things like Ariel and Tahoma and Verdana. Those are some of the easiest fonts to read.

Number 9: add chapters and sections to your videos

This is a great idea for everybody. It’s helpful so that people can find what they need, what part of the video they need to be in and if they need to go back they know how to do that. It helps people find things in your videos faster and it can reduce cognitive load. It just makes the whole user experience much better and more accessible.

Number 10: use an accessible video player and platform

For things like YouTube and Instagram and Facebook, you don’t have much control over that, but if you have a website and you’re uploading content, make sure that you’re using a player that has labeled controls for screen readers and that are accessible through keyboard and can be accessed through people using voice access technology. 

You can implement everything else that I said in this video, like audio description and captions and transcripts, but if somebody using assistive technology can’t control the video, that is a really big blocker. And it could prevent them from even watching the video.

So those are 10 ways to make videos more accessible. If you like this video and you thought it brought value, hit that like button and don’t forget to subscribe. If you think I missed something and if you wanted to add something leave those in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.  

If you want to support this channel and what I do, please consider becoming a CoA member on YouTube or Patreon. That’s it for now, thank you for watching and I’ll see you in the next one.