Page title: WCAG 1.2.1 – Text alternatives for audio-only and video-only media Meta description: Make audio-only and video-only media accessible according to WCAG 1.2.1 with clear text transcripts or descriptions for all users. url: audio-video-only-text-alternatives

WCAG 1.2.1 – Audio-only and Video-only (pre-recorded)

Summary

WCAG 1.2.1 requires that pre-recorded media that contain only audio or only video have an equivalent textual alternative. This makes the content accessible to users who cannot perceive audio or video material.

Level: A Category: Perceivable

What is WCAG 1.2.1 – Audio-only and Video-only?

Audio-only media only contain sound (such as a podcast or audio book), while video-only media only contain images without sound (such as a silent instructional video or animation without audio). For both types of media, there must be a text alternative to ensure that all users have full access to the same information.

Who benefits from this?

People who are deaf or hard of hearing (for audio-only media).
People who are blind or visually impaired (for video-only media).
Users who have difficulty processing auditory or visual information.

How do you comply with WCAG 1.2.1?

Always provide a textual alternative for pre-recorded audio-only or video-only media.

Text transcript for audio-only content: html <audio controls src=‘interview.mp3’></audio> <a href=‘transcript-interview.html’>View the full transcript of the interview here.</a> The transcript offers a textual alternative for users who cannot hear audio.

Textual description for video-only content: html <video src=‘manual.mp4’></video>

<p><a href=‘manual-description.html’>Read the textual description of this instructional video here.</a></p> *The textual description offers visually impaired or blind users access to the video's content.*

Good and bad examples

✅ Good example (audio-only):

<audio controls src=‘podcast.mp3’></audio>
<a href=‘podcast-transcript.html’>Read the transcript of this podcast.</a>

Clear text alternative available, so that deaf and hard of hearing users do not miss anything.

❌ Bad example (audio-only):

<audio controls src=‘podcast.mp3’></audio>

No transcript provided; inaccessible to deaf or hard of hearing users.

✅ Good example (video-only):

<video src=‘montage-instructie.mp4’></video>
<a href=‘tekstuele-instructie.html’>Read the instructions from this video.</a>

Text description available; accessible to blind or visually impaired users.

❌ Bad example (video-only):

<video src=‘montage-instructie.mp4’></video>

No text alternative offered; inaccessible to visually impaired or blind users.

How do you test WCAG 1.2.1?

Manual check:

Check whether audio-only media is provided with a full transcript.
Check whether video-only media is accompanied by a textual description containing all relevant visual details.

Automatic tools:

Although this criterion should mainly be checked manually, you can use the tools below to check whether alternatives are available:

Axe DevTools
Lighthouse (Chrome DevTools)

Use a screen reader:

NVDA (Windows)
VoiceOver (Mac)

WCAG 1.2.1