Making Onboarding Videos Accessible
TL;DR:
- Add subtitles and captions to help hearing-impaired viewers and those in noisy environments
- Use high color contrast to make visual elements easier to distinguish
- Include video descriptions for visually impaired users
- Optimize videos for different devices to ensure consistent viewing experiences
Creating accessible onboarding videos isn't just good practice – it's essential for reaching your entire audience. Here's how to make your videos work for everyone.
Adding Subtitles and Captions
Subtitles and captions are the quickest win for video accessibility. They help hearing-impaired viewers, people watching in noisy spaces, and non-native speakers follow along.
Subtitles transcribe what's being said. Captions go further by including sound effects, music cues, and other audio information that adds context.
Make sure your captions sync properly with the audio. Nothing confuses viewers more than text that's three seconds behind the speaker.
Using High Color Contrast
Strong color contrast helps everyone distinguish between different elements on screen. This is especially important for viewers with visual impairments, but it reduces eye strain for all your viewers.
Your text should stand out clearly from the background. Use tools based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to check your contrast ratios – aim for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.
Including Video Descriptions
Video descriptions provide a spoken account of visual elements that aren't covered by dialogue. They're crucial for visually impaired viewers who need to understand what's happening on screen.
Keep descriptions concise but informative. Focus on visual information that's necessary for understanding the content. Use a calm, clear voice that doesn't compete with your main audio.
Record descriptions during natural pauses in dialogue, or create an audio description track that viewers can enable if needed.
Optimizing for Different Devices
Your viewers will watch on phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. Your videos need to work well on all of them.
Test your videos across different screen sizes. Make sure text remains readable and important visual elements don't get cut off on smaller screens. Use responsive video players that adapt to the viewing device.
Consider how accessibility features work on different platforms. Mobile caption displays might behave differently than desktop versions.
Testing Your Videos
Before publishing, test your videos with accessibility features enabled. Watch with captions on, try the video description track, and check how it performs on different devices.
Better yet, get feedback from users who actually rely on these accessibility features. They'll spot issues you might miss.
FAQs
How do I add captions to my videos?
Most video platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia offer automatic captioning, but you'll need to review and edit these for accuracy. For better results, upload a transcript or use professional captioning services.
What's the difference between subtitles and captions?
Subtitles only show dialogue and speech. Captions include all audio information – dialogue, sound effects, music cues, and speaker identification.
Do I need video descriptions for all my content?
Focus on videos where visual information is essential for understanding. Simple talking-head videos might not need descriptions, but screen recordings or videos with charts and graphics definitely do.
Jargon Buster
Subtitles: Text that shows spoken dialogue at the bottom of videos
Captions: Text that includes all audio information, including sound effects and music
Video descriptions: Spoken narration that describes visual elements for viewers who can't see them
Color contrast ratio: A measurement of how much colors stand out from each other, expressed as a ratio like 4.5:1
WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – the international standard for web accessibility
Wrap-up
Accessible videos reach more people and create better experiences for everyone. Start with captions and good contrast – these changes have the biggest impact with the least effort.
The goal isn't perfect accessibility overnight. Pick one area to improve, implement it across your videos, then move on to the next. Your viewers will notice the difference.
Ready to make your content more accessible? Join Pixelhaze Academy for detailed tutorials and hands-on guidance.