Provide alternatives for images, video and audio content

Users with visual impairments may not be able to see or interpret visual content, such as images and video. As content producers you must provide text that accurately describes the nature of all visual content. Users with hearing or cognitive impairments, and those for whom the language spoken in any video content is not their primary language, may not be able to hear or understand spoken audio in video content.

Image and video content usually requires far higher internet speeds than text, so providing text alternatives also helps users who are looking at your content with a poor internet connection. If you are unable to associate text alternatives with images and videos, you must speak with those responsible for hosting or publishing your content, so that they can do this for you.

This guidance currently aligns with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and is being updated to reflect WCAG 2.2.

Organisations subject to the Web Accessibility Directive or the European Accessibility Act should refer to WCAG 2.2 (W3C.org), as compliance will be required when the revised EN 301 549 standard (PDF) is published in the Official Journal of the European Union in December 2026.

In this section

All images must have a text equivalent (“Alt text”)
Provide text equivalents for audio content
Provide audio descriptions and text equivalents for video content

References for this section

WCAG 2.1

1.1.1 Non-text Content (A)
1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded) (A)
1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded) (A)
1.2.3 Audio Descriptions or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded) (A)
1.2.4 Captions (Live) (A)
1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded) (AA)

EN 301 549 v 2.1.2

9.1.1.1 Non-text Content
9.1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded)
9.1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded)
9.1.2.3 Audio Descriptions or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded)
9.1.2.4 Captions (Live)
9.1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded)

Provide alternatives for images, video and audio content

In this section

References for this section

WCAG 2.1

EN 301 549 v 2.1.2

Further reading