WCAG 1.4.7: Low or No Background Audio

WCAG 1.4.7 Low or No Background Audio is a level AAA success criterion from WCAG 2.0. Speech in audio should be at least 20 decibels louder than background sound, or the background can be turned off.

People who are hard of hearing cannot separate speech from music.

How to test

Listen to product videos. If music sits under speech, look for a way to turn the music off.

How to fix

Drop the music under speech, or offer a voice-only version.

Example that fails

A product story has music as loud as the voice.

Example that passes the check

A control switches to a voice-only cut.

Shopify

Upload a voice-only version of the brand video and offer it in the section.

WooCommerce

Add the voice-only file as a second product video.

WordPress

Provide a second audio file labelled Voice only.

Wix

Add a second audio or video element labelled without music.

Related fixes