Online course and coaching website accessibility: sales pages, video lessons, quizzes and workbooks
Accessibility fixes for online course creators, coaches and membership sites: sales pages and countdown timers, video lessons with captions and transcripts, quizzes, downloadable workbooks, checkout and member logins.
Course creators and coaches sell from a sales page, deliver through video lessons, quizzes and downloadable workbooks, and keep members behind a login. A student who is deaf, blind, has low vision, uses a keyboard or voice control, or has a learning disability can get stuck at any of those steps, and a student who can't follow the lessons asks for a refund. Much of this runs on a course platform, so part of the job is knowing what you control (your text, videos, files and settings) and what to ask the platform for. Here's what to check.
1. Sales pages and countdown timers
Put the offer, price, what's included and the refund terms in real text, not only in graphics. Buttons should say what they do ("Join the 6-week course, $297") rather than "Click here". Countdown timers that move every second distract some readers and are noisy for screen readers. If the deadline is real, state it in text and keep the timer out of live announcements. Avoid fake scarcity: it's misleading for everyone. (WCAG 2.4.4, WCAG 2.2.2, WCAG 1.4.5)
<p>Enrollment closes Friday, November 6 at 11:59 PM Central.</p> <div aria-hidden="true" class="timer">2d 04h 13m</div> <a class="button" href="/checkout">Join the 6-week course, $297</a> <!-- example values -->
2. Video lessons: captions, transcripts and descriptions
Every lesson video needs captions you've reviewed (auto-captions get names, jargon and numbers wrong). A transcript helps people who prefer to read, search or review. If you show something on screen that you don't say out loud (a spreadsheet formula, a setting you click), say it, or add it to the lesson notes. The player must work with the keyboard and must not auto-play sound. (WCAG 1.2.2, WCAG 1.2.3, WCAG 1.2.5, WCAG 1.4.2)
<video controls> <source src="lesson-3.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <track kind="captions" src="lesson-3.en.vtt" srclang="en" label="English" default> </video> <p><a href="lesson-3-transcript">Read the lesson 3 transcript</a></p> <!-- example file names -->
See our video captions guide.
3. Live sessions and coaching calls
Turn on live captions in your meeting tool, share slides or notes ahead of time, and caption the recording before you post it to the course. Tell people how to ask for a different format (for example a written Q&A instead of a live call). (WCAG 1.2.4)
4. Lesson pages and course navigation
Each lesson needs a clear title, headings and a visible "Mark complete" and "Next lesson" button that works with the keyboard. Progress should be shown in text ("Lesson 4 of 12, 33% complete"), not only as a coloured bar. (WCAG 2.4.6, WCAG 1.4.1, WCAG 2.4.7)
<nav aria-label="Lesson"> <p>Module 2, lesson 4 of 12 (33% complete)</p> <button type="button">Mark lesson 4 complete</button> <a href="/course/lesson-5">Next lesson: Pricing your offer</a> </nav> <!-- example values -->
5. Quizzes and assignments
Group each question's answers in a fieldset with the question as the legend. Feedback should be in words ("Not quite. The answer is B because...") and not only a red or green colour. Avoid drag-and-drop-only questions, or offer a choice list too. Timed quizzes need a way to ask for more time. (WCAG 1.3.1, WCAG 2.5.7, WCAG 2.2.1, WCAG 3.3.1)
<fieldset> <legend>Question 2: Which price shows the full cost?</legend> <label><input type="radio" name="q2" value="a"> $97 a month</label> <label><input type="radio" name="q2" value="b"> $297 once, all taxes included</label> </fieldset> <p role="status" id="q2-feedback"></p> <!-- example values; fill q2-feedback with a plain-words result -->
6. Workbooks, slides and downloads
A workbook exported as a flat image or a scanned PDF can't be read by a screen reader or filled in. Export from Word, Google Docs or Canva with headings and real text, use a tagged PDF or offer the same content as a web page or editable document, and name links by the file ("Download the week 1 workbook (PDF, 2 MB)"). See accessible PDFs.
7. Checkout, member logins and community
Checkout fields need labels and autocomplete, and errors need words. Logins should let password managers fill, allow paste, and avoid puzzle CAPTCHAs. Community and comment areas need named buttons and images with alt text. Most of this is the course platform's code, so ask your platform for its accessibility conformance report (VPAT) and test the flow yourself. (WCAG 1.3.5, WCAG 3.3.8) See checkout accessibility and accessible logins and CAPTCHA.
8. Tell students how to get help
Add a short line on the sales page and inside the course saying how to ask for a different format or help, with a real email, and make sure someone answers. Keep it factual and don't claim the course is "fully accessible". (WCAG 3.2.6)
<p>Need captions, a transcript, a different file format or more time on a quiz? Email [email protected] and we'll sort it out.</p> <!-- example wording, use your real contact details -->
See the accessibility statement template.
Common mistakes
- Prices and course outlines shown only as graphics.
- Auto-captions posted without review.
- On-screen steps never said out loud or written down.
- Progress and quiz results shown only by colour.
- Drag-and-drop-only quiz questions.
- Workbooks as flat image PDFs.
- No way to ask for help or another format.
- An overlay widget instead of real fixes. See overlays vs real fixes.
A 15-minute check you can do today
- Using only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and Space, go from your sales page to the checkout button. Can you always see where you are?
- Play one lesson with the sound off. Do the captions keep up and get the names right?
- Mark a lesson complete and move to the next one with the keyboard.
- Answer a quiz question wrong. Does the feedback say why, in words?
- Open a workbook PDF and try to select the text.
- Zoom to 200% on a phone-width window. Can you still read a lesson page?
What a scan can and can't check here
Our scan is automated, so it finds only part of the barriers on the public pages it visits, such as your sales page and free lessons: missing alt text, unlabelled fields and buttons, low contrast, missing page language and similar code problems. It doesn't sign in to your course, judge caption accuracy, take quizzes or read every download, which is why the 15-minute check matters. Our Fix-Pack gives copy-paste fixes for what it finds and notes what to ask your course platform for.
Related: tutoring, music and dance school websites, video captions, accessible PDFs.
This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it doesn't certify compliance with the ADA or any law, or protect against claims.
Want the fixes written for you?
Start with a free homepage snapshot. The $149 Fix-Pack scans up to 10 pages and gives copy-paste fixes for your platform within 48 hours, with a 14-day refund promise. See a sample report first.
This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify compliance with the ADA or any law.
Related guides
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- WCAG 2.2 explained for small-business websites
- Squarespace accessibility fixes: alt text, contrast, forms and more
This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.
Check your own site
Run a free homepage snapshot to see your top 3 issues in about a minute, or order the $149 Fix-Pack for up to 10 pages with copy-paste fixes for your platform.