Level A · WCAG 2.0
1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative
Pre-recorded video needs either an audio description of what is shown, or a text alternative that tells the same story.
Manual only No automated check says anything useful.
How it fails in practice
A tutorial where the narrator says “click here, then here” while the screen shows where — useless to anybody not watching.
How to fix it
Either write a full text alternative that stands on its own, or record a description track. Scripting the narration so it names what it points at removes most of the problem before it exists.
At a glance
- Level
- Level A — the minimum. Failing one of these usually makes something impossible rather than merely hard.
- Principle
- Perceivable
- Guideline
- 1.2 Time-based Media
- Added in
- WCAG 2.0
- EN 301 549
- 9.1.2.3
- Automated check
- Manual only
Manual only
How far an automated check gets
Nothing automatic decides this. A scanner that reports it as passing is reporting that it did not look. It stays untested until a person tests it and records what they did — which is exactly how we treat it: as untested, not as passed.
Related criteria
Other criteria under the same guideline.
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