WCAG 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded)
WCAG 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) is a level A success criterion from WCAG 2.0. Prerecorded video that has sound needs captions, synchronised with the speech and the relevant sounds.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing shoppers, and anyone watching with the sound off, miss the offer.
How to test
Play the video muted. Captions should show the speech, and meaningful sounds such as a chime.
How to fix
Upload a caption file to the video host and turn captions on by default if the platform allows it.
Example that fails
A homepage hero video with a spoken discount and no captions.
Example that passes the check
The same video has an English caption track that includes the discount code.
Shopify
Host the video on a player that accepts a VTT file, and paste that file in the theme's video section rather than a muted autoplay with no track.
WooCommerce
If the product video is YouTube or Vimeo, upload captions there and use a player that exposes the caption control.
WordPress
Use the Video block's tracks, or the host's caption upload. Do not burn unreadable text into the picture only.
Wix
Use the Wix video settings to attach captions. A looping background video that speaks still needs them.