Your video is only as accessible as the player that delivers it

Last week I talked about the accessibility essentials for prerecorded video, but there’s another accessibility barrier you might be missing: the video player itself.

Your video player needs to work for everyone. Here are the accessibility features the player must include:

• Each control is reachable using standard keyboard commands
• Each control has a clear focus indicator
• Each control has a descriptive name and value for its current state
• The player allows the user to toggle the display of captions
• The player allows the user to play audio descriptions

So which players have the best support for these features?

All the major platforms have you covered. YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia all support these essential features. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to provide accurate captions and audio description files to take advantage of these features.

I’ve found that many other video players support keyboard navigation and captions, but not audio descriptions. If your video relies on visual information that isn’t explained in the audio (think charts, demos, or visual storytelling), WCAG 2.1 AA requires audio descriptions, and not every player supports them.

If you need the best overall support for accessibility features, including synced sign language interpretation and transcripts, Able Player is the best option. This one might not be the first choice for most businesses, but it’s got all the bells and whistles.

Test your current setup

Navigate to one of your videos and try using only your keyboard. Press Tab to move between controls and see if you can play, pause, adjust volume, and turn captions on/off. If you get stuck anywhere, it might be time to consider switching to a player with better accessibility support.