What Is WCAG?

Direct definition

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the W3C standard for making web content more accessible. For video, Success Criterion 1.2.2 requires captions for prerecorded synchronized media, with related criteria for live captions and audio description.

The sections below explain how WCAG is used in transcription and subtitle work, what people often mix up, and which VideoText workflow applies when the next step is a file or review pass.

Key takeaways

• WCAG is a standard, not a law — laws often reference it.
• 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) is the usual starting point for recorded video.
• WCAG 1.2.2 is the usual starting criterion for captions on recorded web video.

How WCAG relates to captions

Meeting 1.2.2 means a synchronized caption track exists and is accurate enough to convey the audio. Auto-generated text that is not corrected may fail that requirement in practice even if a track is present.

Related terms

• caption accessibility
• closed captions
• audio description
• All glossary terms

Sources

1. W3C: WCAG 2.2
2. W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded)