Accessibility FAQ
Hands down, the best place to seek answers to your accessibility questions is the Stanford Office of Digital Accessibility (SODA) . For H&S website specific questions, we've compiled a list of FAQ for your reference as you apply the information from SODA to your sites. If you have a question that's not on this page, please submit a Help Ticket or join us for Office Hours from 11am to noon on the last Friday of each month.
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Images
Where can I find a list of images that need Alt Text?
What does good Alt Text look like?
The short answer is that Alt Text should be a text equivalent of message the image is meant to convey. It should be:
Accurate: including spelling, grammar, and proper punctuation.
Concise: using the fewest words possible while providing a meaningful description for the image. Aim for 150 characters or less, if possible.
Equivalent: presenting the same content and/or function of the image.
More information about the nuts and bolts of Alt Text can be found at SODA , and some examples are listed in our Guide to Remediating Accessibility Missteps .
What Alt Text should be included for a headshot of a person?
Headshots are very common types of images that must contain Alt Text, as they are not decorative images. Alt Text of a headshot should include the following:
Identify that it's a headshot. This is a particular style of image where it would be expected that the person is a professional, likely wearing some sort of business attire, and smiling. By labeling the image as a headshot, there is no need to further describe these details of the image, as they are implicit.
Include the person's full name.
If the person is doing something in the photo, describe it. Chances are, the image is just a standard headshot. However, if the person is doing something out of the ordinary or sitting in front of a specific background that communicates visual information, this is OK to include in your Alt Text.
Example
In this example, our Alt Text would simply read, "Headshot of Ran Abramitzky."
What is considered a Decorative Image?
Decorative images don’t add information to the content of a page. Adding Alt Text for these types of images would add audible clutter to screen reader output or could distract users if the topic is different from that in adjacent text. Whether to treat an image as decorative or informative is a judgment that only the author can make, based on the reason for including the image on the page.
More information can be found at SODA (scroll down to "Decorative Images") and from the official WCAG source .
Is Alt Text required for images that aren't displayed on my site?
No. If an image is uploaded in your media library, but NOT currently inserted into any of your content, then it does not need Alt Text. However, if you go back and use the image somewhere on your site, you'll need to provide relevant Alt Text at that time. The "relevant" Alt Text that would be added will convey the intent for adding that image.
Why should I avoid using flyers as the image for my event?
Screen readers cannot pick up the text included in an image. While your flyer might work well for a person without visual impairments, anyone utilizing screen reading software will miss out on the important details. Additionally, images of flyers often fail to meet color contrast requirements and can be hard for sighted readers to decipher. To avoid these issues, the best practice is to avoid including images of flyers on your site.
If you must use an image of a flyer, Alt Text isn't sufficient. Instead, a Text Description of the image is necessary. A Text Description gives a word-for-word copy of the text within the image. Depending on how much text is included in your image, this may create a lot of extra work for you.
More info on Text Descriptions can be found in the next section. Additional information about why flyers are tough for accessibility can be found in our Guide to Remediating Accessibility Missteps .
How can I do Alt Text on a complex infographic?
All complex images require a Text Description, which is similar to Alt Text but more thorough. Text Descriptions are word-for-word copies of the text or information conveyed in the image, rather than just a general description of the image, as with Alt Text.
An example of a Text Description can be found at the bottom of the Biology Capstone page. This image is very detailed in order to walk students through a complex decision. Not only does it contain a lot of text, but there are multiple paths and multiple end points depending on how questions were answered. This is a highly valuable infographic, but without a Text Description, users of screen reading software won't receive the same benefit as users without visual impairments.
To ensure equal access for all users, a Text Description is included. It is provided on its own page, which is linked below the infographic:
Video Captioning
This feels overwhelming, where do I start?
We know that some units have hundreds of videos on their sites. We encourage you to start with today and work backwards. This would look like:
Ensuring that any videos you add today and going forward have captions. Let's not make the situation worse!
Add captions to the next most recent video on your site.
Keep working back until every video from January 1, 2023 through today has captions.
As time allows, keep working backwards starting with videos from 2022, then 2021, etc when you can.
Is YouTube's auto-captioning sufficient?
Unfortunately, no.
For starters, their auto-captions lack punctuation altogether. Additionally, YouTube misses or incorrectly identifies people’s names and can skip important words or phrases. These errors are riddled throughout the auto-caption experience which makes it hard to follow without sound.
Appropriate captioning means that a person watching your video without sound would be able to follow along without issue. Captions must include proper punctuation and spelling, as well as important background sounds, such as music or applause. The text should line up with the spoken words.
How do I remediate video?
We know that adding captions is time consuming. We also know that you're probably not a video editing expert. We are looking at various options to make the process as easy on you as possible, and this is what we've found so far.
Use a Third Party Vendor
SODA has a list of recommended third party vendors (SUNet login required) that can create the captions for you. Some are as low as $0.25 per minute for an automatic transcript (without timestamp or human review) and $1.50 per video minute for a full caption. Simply upload or submit your video to one of these vendors, choose from various options, and the results will be sent to you. The vendors will also give you access to the editor, and you can upload a thesaurus of domain specific terms (e.g. latin plant names). Most vendors promise between 95-99% accuracy, and it's always worthwhile to take at least one passthrough of the output to ensure it's up to standard.
Work within YouTube
If your video is already uploaded to YouTube, it might be simplest to stay in YouTube for editing. SODA has a step by step video of how to do this on their captioning page :
Use an external tool to create a transcript file to then upload to YouTube
There is an abundance of video editing software, some of which offer AI captioning assistance. We are in the process of testing them out and compiling some recommendations. Stay tuned!
How can I inform vendors or auto-captioning tools of the names referenced in the video?
Many words will be impossible for outsiders to understand or correctly identify. These include names of people, names of local places, local plant species, scientific genus names, etc. Many third party vendors will provide an editor where you can add words to an online dictionary. We believe that as more video content is transcribed, the results will become increasingly accurate as the dictionary expands. Either way, taking a passthrough of the output is essential to ensuring everything is accurate.
Do video captions need to include the names of each speaker, or can generic identifiers (like Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc.) be used?
When speaker names are known, it is best to include them. This is especially important if the speaker is a subject matter expert on the topic. Once the full names have been introduced, e.g. Jane Stanford and Leland Stanford, you can use the speaker's initials going forward, e.g. JS and LS.
For panels where there are questions from the audience, names are not as important. You can include "[Audience member 1]" etc.
Should I take down un-captioned videos?
We don't want to get to that point. Start working through videos that were created on or after January 1, 2023. For videos that were created in 2022 or earlier, evaluate if they are still relevant or provide value. If they do, keep them up! However, if the videos no longer provide value to your site's users and are uncaptioned, taking them down is recommended. If you still need help, reach out.
What if my video doesn't contain sound or only contains instrumental music?
If your video contains no sound at all, simply add a caption that reads, "[No sound]."
If your video contains only instrumental music, it's important to look at why the music is there. Here are some examples:
Perhaps your video is an aerial shot or drone footage of your building set to instrumental background music. In this case, you can simply include something in brackets that references the music such as, "[upbeat music]." If the music is a specific song, include that information, for example, "[Song Name by Artist]."
If the music is an original composition piece, try to describe the music. For instance, you might describe the tempo, feel, or instruments being used, "[upbeat flute solo]."
Audio
This feels overwhelming, where do I start?
We know that some units have dozens of podcasts on their sites. We encourage you to start with today and work backwards. This would look like:
Ensuring that any podcasts or other audio you add today and going forward have transcripts. Let's not make the situation worse!
Add transcripts to the next most recent podcast episode on your site.
Keep working back until every audio file from January 1, 2023 through today has captions.
As time allows, keep working backwards starting with audio from 2022, then 2021, etc. While these aren't part of the legal mandate, it is best practice. Please add them when you can.
How do I transcribe an audio podcast?
Creating a transcript for an audio file is slightly easier than adding captions for a video simply due to the fact that the audio transcript doesn't need to be synced with a video for timing. There are a number of ways to create a transcript:
If the podcast had a script, you can start with that file as a template. Be sure to double check the file against the podcast, as speakers sometimes go off-script.
Upload the audio file to a video editor and turn on captions. Information about various programs can be found in the video remediation section . You'll need to proof-read the file.
Upload the audio file to YouTube and turn on captions. Edit the output following the same steps as a video , including adding punctuation and proper use of capitalization. Download the file.
Consider a SODA vendor (SUNet ID login required). These services cost around 25 cents per minute of audio. You'll need to proof-read the output.
Using AI
There are a few platforms that will use AI to generate a transcript of your podcas t. Please note that we have not sampled these platforms so we aren't able to provide any recommendations at this time. However, if you filter by "Transcript" you will be able to see a list of options.
You will notice Apple Podcasts appears on this list. Apple has announced plans to add auto-transcriptioning capabilities this Spring. Stay tuned for updates!
I've made the transcript. Now what?
Once you’ve made the transcript, the hard part is done! Next, you’ll need to incorporate it into your page. While it is tempting to simply upload a word document or PDF with the transcript, this almost always leads to accessibility issues. Plus, users generally don’t love having to download and open a separate file.
We’ve found the accordion feature to be particularly nice for transcripts. They default to the collapsed position, and can be expanded for anyone who wishes to read along. Another option is to type the transcript on its own webpage, and link that page next to your audio file.
Where can I find an example of a good audio transcript?
The Humanities Core was the first H&S site to include a transcript alongside an audio file. They used the accordion component to house the transcript .
Other
Do my social media channels' content need captioning?
All official Stanford accounts must be compliant with these requirements. If your department has an Instagram, TikTok, or other social media account, the posts must be captioned. This is especially true if you link to this account from your website.
How do I caption music?
Generally speaking, the process for captioning or transcribing music is the same as any other video or audio file. You'll follow the steps above ( video or audio ).
Which words are included in the captions/transcript depend on the music. You'll want to be as detailed as you can, such as "upbeat cello solo" or "whimsical flute with strong bass in the background." Try to capture the feel and tempo of the music in the description provided.