There are two ways to use videos on the Websites & CMS OE platform; you can use a video as the page background or display videos in the content area of a page. These options are available on the homepage and on content pages.
Videos have the advantage of dynamic imagery and conveying complex information in an accessible way. They can be a good way to break up an otherwise text-heavy page and visitors are increasingly choosing to watch available video content over reading text.
Choosing the right video is important, but it can be difficult to understand what kind of video you should create or present. This article presents limited advice; for detailed guidelines, please consult the Web Accessibility Initiative page Making Audio and Video Media Accessible.
Tips for Background Videos
The purpose of a background video is to play automatically behind the content area. Because the content area is the focus of the page, you want to avoid videos that are focused centrally, or that contain important content or information.
Here are some further tips for background videos:
- Choose a shorter video over a longer one, as long videos take longer to load and site visitors cannot skip background videos. Generally, a 5-15 second loop with gentle movement and no sound will work well.
- Similarly, smaller files sizes will load quicker and there will be less buffering in the playback.
- Use a video with a clean loop, as sudden jumps in a background video may be distracting or disorientating to viewers.
- You may also choose a video with slower or more subtle movement, to avoid distracting from the content on the page. Users may find it difficult to focus on text when a video is moving very quickly in the background.
- Choose a fallback image that will display if your video does not load or play, or that will display on mobile devices. You may choose to use a still from your video as your fallback image, so there is minimal disruption.
Tips for Videos in Content
Videos embedded in the content area of your page should be informative, easily understandable, and not too long. They should also complement any content found in the text; it is bad practice to have a video embedded within text that has no relationship to the video.
Some more tips:
- Write a script before recording so you can ensure you cover all the relevant points or instructions.
- Include a transcript and captions in your video. If you add a video to your homepage using the video widget, you can add a transcript to the video files in your Files Library which users can select. If you embed a video in a content page, you will need to upload and link the transcript separately.
- Ensure the video is relevant to the page on which it is embedded. For example, a video about which items go in each of your household bins is better suited for a page about household waste, rather than one about environmental sustainability.
- Ensure any voiceover or spoken audio is clear and easily understood. Speakers should read clearly and at a measured pace, to give all users the best chance of understanding the content.
- Long videos or large file sizes are generally better hosted externally on a third-party video platform such as YouTube or Vimeo. These videos are embedded into your page content rather than uploaded into your Files Library. This reduces the load times for your page and these video players are recognizable for most users and easy to control the playback, volume, and captions.
- If the video is the primary source of information on the page, put it nearer the top of your content. Conversely, if the page is text-heavy and the video is supplemental content, it can go lower on the page. As a general guide, stick to one video per page.
Video Accessibility Tips
- Include captions and a transcript, rather than one or the other. There are numerous situations where a site visitor may want to refer to the captions, transcript, or both. For example, some people who are Deaf or hard of hearing may prefer to see the visual content and read captions, while others may prefer to read or scan the transcript. The exception is if you are live streaming, in which case you can provide live captions and post the transcript after the live stream has concluded. If you use automatic caption, please review them for accuracy before posting the video.
- Provide captions and transcript in languages other than English. You can also choose to include a separate audio stream in other languages.
- Avoid videos that auto-play, particularly those that rely on sound; site visitors should be able to make the choice to play the video or not.
- Avoid text in videos, but if you use it then place over a simple background such as sky or white space, ensure there is sufficient contrast between the text color and background, and ensure it is on the screen long enough to be read comfortably.
- Use high-quality equipment and control any background audio while applicable to help ensure the video and audio are crisp and clear.
- Avoid videos that flash brightly and excessively to avoid triggering seizures. The WCAG guideline is no more than three flashes in any one second period within the video.
- Where possible, integrate visual description into the script for people who are blind or cannot see the video content adequately. For example, if showing a chart, you would describe the figures contained within the chart and what those figures show, rather than just stating the interpretation of the chart.