Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
Prerecorded video with audio must have either an audio description (narration of visual content during pauses) or a media alternative (text equivalent).
What it requires
WCAG 2.0 SC 1.2.3 covers blind users watching video with audio: they hear the spoken dialogue but miss anything happening visually. The fix is either an "audio description" track narrating visual events between dialogue, or a separate text-based media alternative that describes the entire video.
For most ecommerce video content, a thorough text transcript that includes visual descriptions is the simplest path. Stand-alone audio-description tracks are higher-effort and more relevant to long-form content.
Common Shopify failure
Product story videos that show product details visually while a voice-over discusses the brand mission — blind users miss the product details. No transcript.
How to fix it
AccessComply pairs every video without a transcript with a flag for merchant action. Where a transcript exists, the agent validates it covers both audio and visual content.
Primary source: W3C — WCAG 2.0 Understanding 1.2.3