Accessible Virtual Events, Done Properly
Webinars, conferences and meetings run online, made accessible to disabled attendees.
Marcus Adeyemi
The key figures
- Captions
- live captions support deaf and hard of hearing attendees
- Interpreters
- sign language interpretation needs pinned video
- Platforms
- accessibility varies significantly between platforms
- Materials
- slides and handouts need accessible versions
Why this is worth getting right
Virtual events often lack captions and accessible platforms, excluding attendees who registered in good faith.
Do this, not that
Do
- Provide live captions as standard
- Ask about access requirements at registration
- Choose platforms with documented accessibility
- Share accessible materials in advance
- Record and caption sessions afterward
Don’t
- Captions offered only on request at short notice
- Platforms chosen without accessibility checks
- Slides shared only during the session
- Recordings published without captions
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when running public online events.
Where this comes from
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — Live captions
- ADA.gov — ADA Requirements: Effective Communication
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Performance & Accessibility work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
