Video Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards

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In different languages — Instructions to see subtitles and transcripts are below
As a Text Transcript with Description of Visuals below
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On a W3C server — video (file format: MP4, file size: 28MB), English captions file (VTT), list of other language files

Learn More

For more information, see:

Introduction to Web Accessibility
Web Accessibility Perspectives Videos: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone — videos and information on specific accessibility topics.
WAI website — to find a wide range of resources on different aspects of web accessibility standards, education, testing/evaluation, project management, and policy.

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Audio Description

This video does not include audio description because the visuals only support the audio and do not provide additional information. In this case, audio description would be more distracting than useful to most people, including people who cannot see the visuals. The Transcript with Description below includes descriptions of the supporting visuals.

If you want examples of videos with audio description, see Web Accessibility Perspectives - Audio Described (YouTube playlist). Or you can select one of the videos on the Web Accessibility Perspectives web page and select “Enable Audio Description”.

Text Transcript with Description of Visuals

Audio	Visual
Hi! My name is Shadi Abou-Zahra. I'm the Accessibility Strategy and Technology Specialist at W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium, and today I'd like to tell you about web accessibility.	Web Accessibility [Shadi speaking]
The Web is for many people an essential part of daily life.	People in an Internet cafe
At work.	Someone in an office using a computer
At home.	Someone sitting in a sofa using a laptop
And on the road.	Someone using a mobile phone while walking
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web equally.	[Shadi speaking]
For example, somebody who cannot use their arms, and uses a mouthstick to type.	Someone using a mouthstick to type
Or someone who cannot hear well, and uses captions to watch videos.	Someone using a hearing aid
Or someone who cannot see well, and uses a screen reader to read aloud what's on the screen.	Someone using a screen reader
Accessibility has many benefits.	[Shadi speaking]
For example, captions benefit anyone in a loud or in a quiet environment.	Someone watching a video with captions in an office
And good color contrast works better when there is glare.	Someone looking at a mobile phone with glare on the screen
Also people with age-related impairments, such as reduced dexterity, benefit.	Someone with tremors using a mouse with difficulty
In fact, everyone has a better user experience with an improved layout and design.	Two people smiling happily at a well-designed website
A lot of accessibility can be built into the underlying code of websites and applications.	[Shadi speaking]
Web technologies from W3C, such as HTML, provide many accessibility features.	HTML code of a web page
For example, to provide textual descriptions for images, which are read aloud by screen readers and also used by search engines.	Example code
Also headings, labels, and other code supports accessibility and improves the quality overall.	Example code
Good authoring tools, such as wikis, content management systems, and code editors, help create accessible code - either automatically or with input from the author.	Example authoring tool used to create web content
Also web browsers, media players, and apps need to support accessibility features.	Example web browser used to show web content
W3C provides standards to help make the Web accessible, which are internationally recognized by governments and businesses.	[Shadi speaking]
Most well-known is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - WCAG. WCAG is also ISO 40500, and adopted in the European standard called EN 301 549. It is built around four core principles:	Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - WCAG; ISO 40500; EN 301 549
First, Perceivable - for example, so people can see the content, or hear it.	Someone typing on their tablet computer and listening to it with headphones
Operable - for example, so people can use the computer by typing, or by voice.	Someone speaking to their computer
Understandable - for example, so people get clear and simple language.	Two people looking confused at the computer screen with a dense website
And Robust - so people can use different assistive technologies.	Someone using screen magnification on a large computer screen
Besides WCAG, W3C also provides the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines - ATAG, which defines requirements for code management systems, code editors, and other software.	Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines - ATAG
And the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines - UAAG, defines requirements for web browsers and media players.	User Agent Accessibility Guidelines - UAAG
There are over one billion people with disabilities, or about 15-20% of the population. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines that access to information, including the Web, as a human right. Most countries around the world have ratified this UN convention, and several have adopted binding policies too. Yet regardless of any laws and regulations, implementing the accessibility standards is essential for people with disabilities, and useful for all.	[Shadi speaking]
For more information on web accessibility, visit w3.org/WAI	W3C Web Accessibility Initiative w3.org/WAI

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