WCAG 1.2.1 — Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded), explained with examples

Why this criterion exists

Audio-only podcasts and video-only product demos are inaccessible to deaf or blind users without a text alternative. Transcripts also benefit search engines and indexing.

If you only remember one thing: for prerecorded audio-only content, provide a transcript. for prerecorded video-only content, provide either a transcript or an audio description. Everything else on this page is detail.

Who feels it when this fails

Accessibility criteria sometimes feel abstract until you see who pays the cost when a site ignores them. Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) affects:

• Deaf and hard-of-hearing users (audio-only)

• Blind users (video-only)

• Non-native speakers

How sites typically fail it

These are the patterns we see week after week. None are intentional — they are accidents of how teams build interfaces under deadline. Knowing the failure modes is the fastest path to writing them out of your component library.

• Podcast pages with audio embed and no transcript

• Animated explainer videos without narration or transcript

How to test for it

• Pick every audio file or silent video; verify a transcript exists nearby.

A code fix you can copy

Pair the audio element with a visible transcript, ideally on the same page.

<audio src="/podcast.mp3" controls></audio>

<audio src="/podcast.mp3" controls></audio>
<details>
  <summary>Read the full transcript</summary>
  <p>...</p>
</details>