Videos have audio descriptions
Why it matters
Users who are blind or have low vision cannot access purely visual information in a video — demonstrated workflows, screen interactions, on-screen text, or UI layouts are completely opaque without narration. WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.5 (Audio Description — Prerecorded) is a Level AA requirement. For a product demo or tutorial video, the absence of audio description can make the core value proposition of a SaaS inaccessible to an entire segment of users.
Severity rationale
High because visual-only video content is entirely inaccessible to blind users, violating WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.5 at Level AA with no workaround short of a full text transcript.
Remediation
Add an audio description track using <track kind="descriptions"> or provide a text transcript that includes time-coded visual descriptions.
<video controls>
<source src="/product-demo.mp4" type="video/mp4" />
<track kind="captions" src="/captions/demo-en.vtt" srclang="en" label="Captions" />
<track kind="descriptions" src="/descriptions/demo-en.vtt" srclang="en" label="Audio descriptions" />
</video>
If audio description tracks are not feasible, publish a text transcript directly below the video that describes visual actions: "[0:12] The user clicks Settings in the top navigation. [0:15] The account panel slides in from the right." This satisfies WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.3 as an alternative.
DetectionPro
The detection method for this pattern is part of AuditBuffet Pro.
The full method (what to look for, pass and fail conditions, and how results get reported) ships inside the Accessibility WCAG Compliance Audit. The pattern definition, severity rationale, and remediation remain openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
External references
- wcag:2.2 · 1.2.5 — Audio Description (Prerecorded)
- wcag:2.2 · 1.2.3 — Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
- section-508:2018-refresh · 503.4 — User Controls for Captions and Audio Description
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from accessibility-wcag·automated