Video has become one of the most powerful ways to communicate online. Educators share lessons on YouTube, organisations post updates on LinkedIn, and short-form videos on Instagram help bring ideas to life.

But if your videos are not accessible, a significant portion of your audience may miss the message entirely.

Around 26% of the population lives with a disability, but accessible video design doesn’t only benefit people who are blind, deaf, or have low vision. When accessibility is done well, it improves the experience for everyone. Think about how often you watch videos on silent during a commute, skim a transcript to find a key point, or listen to audio while multitasking.

This is the principle of inclusive design: when we remove barriers for people with disabilities, we create more flexible ways for everyone to engage.

For video content, accessibility typically comes down to three core elements aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards:

Captions

Audio description

Transcripts

Together, these ensure your message can be seen, heard, or read.

Here’s how to apply them when posting videos on platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

1. Always Include Accurate Captions

Captions are the most important element of video accessibility. They provide a text version of spoken dialogue and important sounds so people who are deaf or hard of hearing can follow the content.

But captions also benefit a much wider audience.

Students often watch educational videos without sound in libraries or classrooms. Professionals scroll LinkedIn during meetings or on public transport. Social media research consistently shows that many people watch videos with the sound turned off.

Captions allow them to engage immediately.

Platform tips:

YouTube

• Use YouTube Studio to review and correct auto-generated captions.
• AI captions often misinterpret names, acronyms, or technical terms used in education or specialist industries.

LinkedIn

• Upload a dedicated .SRT caption file with your video for the most accurate results.

 Instagram 

• Use the Captions Sticker in Reels or Stories.
• Always review and edit the generated captions before publishing.

Pro Tip:

For short-form content, consider open captions (burned-in captions) so viewers can read them even if their device settings don’t enable closed captions.

2. Provide Audio Descriptions for Visual Information

While captions support people who cannot hear the audio, audio description helps people who cannot see the visuals.

Audio descriptions verbally explain important visual elements in a video.

For example:

• A teacher demonstrating a science experiment
• A chart appearing on screen
• A slide showing key statistics
• A visual joke or reaction

If a viewer cannot see these visuals, they may miss crucial information.

Audio descriptions can be added in two ways:

Integrated descriptions

Naturally describe important visual actions within the narration.

Example:

“Now I’m pouring the blue liquid into the beaker, and you can see it turning green.”

Separate audio description track

• Additional narration inserted during pauses in dialogue.

This approach is commonly used in professional video production and helps meet WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria for accessible media.

For educators, this is particularly important. Many learning videos rely heavily on visual demonstrations and describing them ensures students with vision impairments receive the same learning experience.

3. Always Provide a Transcript

A transcript is a full text version of everything in the video, including spoken dialogue and key audio cues.

Transcripts are incredibly useful for accessibility but are often overlooked.

They support:

• Blind users who rely on screen readers
• Deafblind users who access content through refreshable braille displays
• Students who prefer reading to watching
• People searching for specific information quickly

For example, a student revising for an exam might skim the transcript to find the exact explanation they need rather than rewatching a 10-minute video.

Transcripts also improve searchability and SEO, making your content easier to discover.

Accessibility Improves Engagement for Everyone

When you combine captions, audio description and transcripts, your video becomes far more flexible.

Your audience can:

• Watch silently
• Listen while multitasking
• Read instead of watching
• Access content using assistive technologies

In other words, accessibility creates choice.

What begins as a solution for disability becomes a better experience for every viewer.

Designing Accessible Visual Content

Beyond captions and descriptions, visual design also plays a role in accessibility.

Some quick tips:

Use high contrast

• Aim for a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for text and graphics.

Choose readable fonts

• Use clear sans-serif fonts and large text sizes.

 Avoid flashing or strobe effects 

• Rapid flashing can trigger seizures in viewers with photosensitive epilepsy.

 Use CamelCase hashtags 

• Write hashtags like #DigitalAccessibility so screen readers can correctly interpret each word.

Making Video Accessibility Easier

Creating accessible video might sound complex, but the right tools make it much easier.

At Meet Aandi, we developed a video remediation tool that helps organisations make their videos accessible quickly and affordably.

The tool can:

• Automatically generate captions
• Export video transcripts
• Allow you to add audio descriptions
• Improve accuracy over time as it learns from your edits

Best of all, it costs $1 per minute of video, so you only pay for what you need.

Whether you are an educator publishing lessons, a marketer sharing updates, or an organisation creating training materials, accessible video helps ensure everyone can engage with your message.

Because when we design for accessibility, we don't just include people with disabilities.

We make content better for everyone.