This post is part of a series where we explain Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), an internationally recognized standard for measuring website accessibility. For more posts in this series, visit our Web Accessibility WCAG 2 Knowledge Base.
As part of our ongoing WordPress accessibility series focused on WCAG conformance, we’re now diving into a more advanced, but equally critical, video accessibility requirement: audio description for prerecorded media.
Captions make video content accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but they don’t address the needs of users who are blind or have low vision. That gap is addressed by WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.5: Audio Description (Prerecorded), which requires that important visual information in prerecorded videos is conveyed through spoken narration. When your WordPress site includes videos such as tutorials, walkthroughs, marketing videos, or interviews where visuals add meaning, audio description ensures that all users can fully perceive and understand the content.
In this article, we’ll break down what WCAG 1.2.5 requires, why audio description matters, common implementation challenges, and practical ways to provide audio-described video content using WordPress-friendly tools and workflows.
What is WCAG 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)?
The Success Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) (Level AA) states:
Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.2.5
In plain terms:
If a prerecorded video (any video that is not a livestream) contains meaningful visual information that is not already verbally described in the audio—such as actions, on-screen text, charts, or demonstrations—you must include audio description.
Unlike WCAG 1.2.3, which allows either audio description or a media alternative, 1.2.5 requires audio description specifically.
This means a text-only transcript alone is not sufficient to meet 1.2.5. Users must be able to hear spoken descriptions of key visuals during the video playback.
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Why WCAG 1.2.5 Matters
Imagine a WordPress tutorial video that visually demonstrates how to configure a plugin. The narrator says, “Now enable these options,” while the screen shows multiple toggles being selected. Without audio description explaining which options are enabled and where they appear on the screen, a blind user would miss critical information.
WCAG 1.2.5 exists to prevent that exclusion. By requiring audio description, it ensures that users who cannot see the video still receive the same understanding as sighted viewers, at the same time, and within the same experience.
It is helpful for people to hear key content when watching videos, and for some users, it is easier to understand content in audio format than in a written transcript (as allowed by WCAG 1.2.3).
How to meet this Success Criterion in WordPress
You can meet this success criterion by creating videos with separate audio description tracks or by thinking ahead and including audio description as you record so that a separate track is not necessary. If you’re creating separate audio-described videos or audio description tracks, there are several ways these can be added to your WordPress website.
Easiest: plan for audio description from the beginning
If you plan for audio description from the beginning when creating your video, you can avoid the need to create separate audio description tracks or audio-described videos.
Try to write scripts that naturally describe key visual details, framing shots with clarity in mind, and ensuring all on-screen text is also spoken aloud. When you do this, your main audio will communicate all the information viewers need.
This approach, called integrated description, keeps production simpler, reduces editing time, and results in a seamless experience in which all audiences receive the same complete story without needing additional narration.
Here are some examples for integrating descriptions into your videos naturally:
- Introduce people, places, or objects when they first appear in videos.
- Read key on-screen text (titles, charts, error messages, instructions) aloud.
- Summarize charts or graphs with the main takeaway and important elements, but you don’t need to list every word or detail.
- In screenshares, describe actions that you’re taking, I.e. “I click the Save button” instead of silence.
- Give context for changes on screen (new slide, popup, highlight, animation). Avoid phrases like “as you can see” — replace with what’s actually happening.
- Don’t rely on color, position, or icons alone to convey meaning, I.e. instead of saying “Press the green button,” say, “Press the save button.”
- Pause briefly after describing something important so viewers can process it.
When creating videos, assume some viewers can’t see the screen at all. Review the video once with your eyes closed — if it still makes sense, you’re on the right track.
Next best: create a video with audio description
Audio description adds a spoken narration track that describes important visual details, such as actions, scene changes, on-screen text, or expressions, so people who are blind or low-vision can fully understand your video.
Creating a version of your video with audio description starts with writing a description script. Here’s how to do it:
- Good audio description includes narration that explains key visual details (e.g., “The presenter clicks the Settings tab and selects Accessibility Options”). Watch your video with the sound on and note every visual element that conveys meaning but isn’t already explained in the dialogue.
- Write brief descriptions for each important visual element.
- Use an audio recording tool (we use Descript) to record your descriptions.
- Import the narration into your video editing software and sync each line to its appropriate moment in the video, ensuring the description doesn’t overlap with any spoken audio. In some cases, you may need to insert a freeze frame in the video to give the description more time.
- Export your video with the descriptive audio mixed in, or provide the narration as a separate AD audio track (supported by many web video players).
Example of an audio-described ad with no spoken audio
This short video from Android has only music and visuals with no spoken audio. Someone who is blind would miss all the information conveyed in the video without the audio description.
Example of audio description within a video’s natural pauses
This is a commercial for Apple’s accessibility features, which includes audio description added into the natural pauses in the video’s narration without requiring any freeze frames or pauses in the video’s action.
Example of an audio-described video with extended descriptions
This educational video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. includes spoken audio and freeze frames to extend pauses, allowing audio description to be inserted. Captions on the video reflect both the spoken audio and audio description.
Additional resources on audio description
To learn more about creating audio description for videos, watch this WordPress Accessibility Meetup recording, Audio Description: If Your Eyes Could Speak with Joel Snyder, founder of the American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project.
How to implement audio description in WordPress
There are several ways to add audio description to your videos in WordPress:
- Use a video player that supports multiple audio tracks: Some players allow you to upload an audio description track alongside the main video or to toggle between different videos (described and not described in the same player). Here are some examples:
- Able Player plugin: This free WordPress plugin supports captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. It works with self-hosted or externally hosted media and lets users toggle accessibility features.
- Vimeo: Vimeo allows you to add multiple audio tracks to the same video. These audio tracks can support multiple languages and also add audio description to videos. How to add multiple audio tracks in Vimeo.
- Wistia: Wistia is a premium video hosting service that supports both standard and extended (where there are pauses in the video) audio description. How to add audio description in Wistia.
- YouTube: The most well-known video hosting platform also supports adding multiple or alternative audio tracks to videos. These can be used to add audio description tracks to your videos. How to add multi-language audio tracks to YouTube videos.
- Allow videos to be switched with tabs or other controls: If your video player does not support audio description, you can still meet this success criterion by creating a separate audio-described video and artfully placing it on your WordPress website near the non-described video. The following are all acceptable ways for providing audio description:
- Tabs: Use accessible tabs with the standard video in one tab and the audio-described video in another tab.
- Accordions: Place each video in an accordion that users can expand and collapse to choose the version they want to play.
- Links: Add a link immediately after the video that takes users to the audio-described version on another web page or on a video hosting platform such as YouTube.
WCAG 1.2.5 Exceptions
There are limited scenarios where WCAG 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) does not apply:
- Live video content: WCAG 1.2.5 applies only to prerecorded media. Audio description for live video is addressed under separate success criteria.
- Videos with sufficient description: if all of the important information in the video track is already conveyed in the audio track, no additional audio description is necessary.
- Purely sensory media: If a video is intended solely as a sensory experience (e.g., abstract visuals or ambient footage) and does not convey meaningful information, audio description is not required.
- Decorative video: Videos that are purely decorative and do not convey essential information or functionality do not require audio description.
Unlike WCAG 1.2.3, WCAG 1.2.5 does not allow a media alternative (such as a transcript) as a substitute. If meaningful visual information is present in a prerecorded video, audio description must be provided.
Testing WCAG 1.2.5 Compliance in WordPress
1. Identify prerecorded videos with meaningful visual content
Review all pages and posts on your WordPress site to identify prerecorded videos. To streamline this process, use Accessibility Checker Pro to run a full-site scan and review the report for “A Video is Present.”
Create a list of videos to evaluate. Videos that rely on visuals such as demonstrations, on-screen text, diagrams, or visual state changes typically require audio description and should be evaluated.
2. Confirm applicable exceptions
Exclude videos that are:
- Decorative
- Purely sensory
- Live streams
All other prerecorded videos with meaningful visuals must be evaluated for audio description.
3. Check for audio description
For each video, watch it carefully and identify visual information that is not conveyed through the existing audio. Ask yourself: “If I could only hear this video, would I still understand all of the important information and actions?”
For any video that doesn’t have sufficient descriptions in the main audio track, confirm that the video includes audio description, either:
- Provided as a separate audio description track that users can enable, or
- Integrated into a separate audio-described video that can be easily accessed near the non-described video.
Text-only transcripts, captions, or media alternatives do not, on their own, meet WCAG 1.2.5.
4. Verify accessibility of audio description in WordPress
Ensure that the method used to deliver audio description is accessible and usable:
- Video players must support multiple audio tracks or provide clear controls to access the audio-described version.
- If separate described and non-described videos are used, users must be able to easily identify and switch between versions.
Controls for enabling audio description must be keyboard accessible, clearly labeled, and programmatically associated with the video.
5. Test with assistive technology
Use screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver to verify that:
- Audio description controls are discoverable and operable.
- Any toggles or switches for enabling audio description are properly labeled and expose their state using appropriate ARIA attributes.
- The described version of the video provides all necessary visual context through spoken narration.
Not sure how to use a screen reader? Check out our online courses on screen reader testing or read on below.
Start Making Your WordPress Site Accessible Today
WCAG 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) ensures that users who are blind or have low vision can fully perceive video content that relies on visual information. By providing audio description, you deliver an equivalent experience—one that communicates meaning through sound, not sight.
Start by prioritizing high-impact content such as tutorials, product demos, and instructional videos. Explore tools and players that support audio description, and plan for description early in your video production workflow.
Accessibility tools like the Accessibility Checker plugin can help you identify where videos exist on your site, but meeting WCAG 1.2.5 requires thoughtful evaluation and implementation. Each audio-described video brings your WordPress site closer to compliance—and ensures your content is truly accessible to everyone.
