Accessibility and Captions

Captions, alt text, and readable design habits that expand reach and reduce friction.

Updated 1mo ago

Notifications and Boundaries

Cross-Posting Traps

Accessibility and Captions

Accessibility helps disabled audiences, silent scrollers, and search systems. It is not extra credit — it is baseline quality.

Video captions

Burn-in or platform captions on every spoken video
Review auto-captions for errors (names, jargon)
Do not rely on text-only in video without narration for key points

Tools: native auto-caption, Descript, CapCut — pick one workflow.

Alt text (images)

Describe what matters for understanding: Weak: "photo" Strong: "Before and after homepage hero: vague headline replaced with outcome-focused headline and single CTA button" Instagram, LinkedIn, and X support alt text — use it.

Text in images

Minimum readable size on mobile
High contrast
Do not put entire essay in image without caption duplicate

Hashtag and emoji clutter

Screen readers wade through hashtag piles. Put hashtags at end or in comment; limit to relevant few.

Color and motion

Avoid red/green-only status indicators
Limit flashing transitions (seizure risk)
Pause heavy motion for static cover frame

Accessible content checklist

Captions on last 5 videos
Alt text habit on image posts
Links described ("Book audit" not "click here")
Carousel reading order logical
Live sessions have caption plan

Business case

Captions increase watch time in silent environments. Alt text can improve search surfacing. Accessibility aligns with reach without gimmicks. See Formats Without Burnout for low-effort video paths.

Accessibility and Captions

Accessibility helps disabled audiences, silent scrollers, and search systems. It is not extra credit — it is baseline quality.

Video captions

Burn-in or platform captions on every spoken video
Review auto-captions for errors (names, jargon)
Do not rely on text-only in video without narration for key points

Tools: native auto-caption, Descript, CapCut — pick one workflow.

Alt text (images)

Describe what matters for understanding: Weak: "photo" Strong: "Before and after homepage hero: vague headline replaced with outcome-focused headline and single CTA button" Instagram, LinkedIn, and X support alt text — use it.

Text in images

Minimum readable size on mobile
High contrast
Do not put entire essay in image without caption duplicate

Hashtag and emoji clutter

Screen readers wade through hashtag piles. Put hashtags at end or in comment; limit to relevant few.

Color and motion

Avoid red/green-only status indicators
Limit flashing transitions (seizure risk)
Pause heavy motion for static cover frame

Accessible content checklist

Captions on last 5 videos
Alt text habit on image posts
Links described ("Book audit" not "click here")
Carousel reading order logical
Live sessions have caption plan

Business case

Captions increase watch time in silent environments. Alt text can improve search surfacing. Accessibility aligns with reach without gimmicks. See Formats Without Burnout for low-effort video paths.