The content of all audio and video media, such as social posts and podcasts, must be made accessible to individuals with disabilities.
To meet ADA guidelines, videos are required to have captioning or transcripts available for viewers. If you must choose between closed captions and transcripts….choose transcripts. If you can already have captions you can use them as a starting point to build a transcript.
Why choose transcripts over captions?
- The only way to make your video and audio content accessible for someone who is both deaf and blind.
- Can be read by a screen reader.
- Converted into Braille to be read on a refreshable Braille output device.
- Translated into other languages.
Why choose captions?
- Clarify video for all users.
- Enable search across video platforms.
- Captions clarify the dialogue when the speaker has an accent, technical terms are used, the audio is muffled or too quiet or the environment is noisy.
- Are easy to create but beware that automatic captions are not sufficient and usually need significant editing!
Are there exceptions when transcripts or captions are not needed?
If there is no substantive audio or visual content you can infrom users. This is important because users who use captions will look for captions. Examples of informing users:
- Captions not needed: The only sound in this video is background music.
- Description not needed: The visuals in this video only support what is spoken. The visuals do not provide additional information.
