WCAG 1.4.2: Audio Control
WCAG 1.4.2 Audio Control is a level A success criterion from WCAG 2.0. If audio plays automatically for more than three seconds, people need a way to pause or mute it, or a volume control independent of the system volume.
Screen-reader users cannot hear the reader over surprise music.
How to test
Load the page and wait. If sound starts, look for a visible pause or mute within the page.
How to fix
Do not autoplay sound. If a video must autoplay, mute it and give a control.
Example that fails
A hero video autoplays with music and no mute button.
Example that passes the check
The hero video is muted, with a Play sound button.
Shopify
In the video section, turn off autoplay with sound. Muted autoplay still needs a pause control if it runs longer than three seconds with any audio.
WooCommerce
Stop product videos from autoplaying with sound in the theme script.
WordPress
Do not set the Video block to autoplay with sound.
Wix
Turn off autoplay sound on background videos in the video settings.