Questions answered by this guide
- Where do I turn on accessibility in Storyline?
- Does turning on accessibility make my course WCAG compliant?
- What does Storyline's accessibility setting actually do?
- Which WCAG checks does A11yCheck automate for Storyline?
- What still needs to be done manually after enabling accessibility?
What you'll learn
- Storyline gives you the settings WCAG needs, but most are off by default
- Turning on accessibility is the first, necessary step, not the last one
- Alt text, captions, and tab order still need your own work
What's inside
Instructional designers applying WCAG inside Articulate Storyline
- 01Turn on the accessibility toggle
- 02What it does, and doesn't, do for you
- 03Where to go for each specific check
Why it matters
Knowing that WCAG requires captions is not the same as knowing where to turn captions on in Storyline. This page connects the standard to the actual tool, then points you to a dedicated guide for each specific check, this page is deliberately short. For the full detail on any one topic, alt text, keyboard access, focus order, color contrast, or captions, use the linked guide below.
Example
✕ Incorrect
A Storyline course is published with the accessibility toggle in Player Properties left at its default, off. No amount of alt text or captioning work elsewhere reaches a screen reader.
With the toggle off, Storyline doesn't expose slide content to assistive technology at all, so nothing else in this checklist matters until this one setting is changed.
✓ Correct
The toggle is turned on first, under File, Player Properties, Other, Accessibility, before any other accessibility work begins.
This is the one setting every other Storyline accessibility fix depends on. Turning it on first means alt text, captions, and tab order fixes actually reach assistive technology instead of being invisible to it.
Best practices
- Turn on Storyline's built-in accessibility toggle first. Most other checks depend on it.
- Use Storyline's own accessibility-related settings, alt text fields, the tab order panel, closed captioning, rather than building workarounds.
- Treat this as a starting map, not a full checklist. Use the Storyline Accessibility Checklist for the complete pass, and the linked topic guides below for depth on any one check.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Storyline is accessible by default. Most settings that matter are off until you turn them on.
- Turning on captioning but forgetting to add a transcript or caption file to each narrated slide.
- Leaving the accessibility toggle off entirely.
Practical checklist
- Accessibility is turned on in Player Properties, Other, Accessibility.
- Every meaningful image has alt text entered in its Accessibility settings.
- Captioning is turned on, and every audio and video object has a matching transcript or caption file.
- Tab order has been checked and corrected where needed.
How A11yCheck reviews this
A11yCheck automates the checks that have a clear right answer for Storyline: missing alt text, low contrast, missing captions, and several structural checks. Whether your content actually makes sense read aloud, or whether a custom interaction really works with a keyboard, still needs a manual pass. See the topic guides linked below for what each check actually looks for.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I turn on accessibility in Storyline?
File, Player Properties, Other, Accessibility.
Does turning on accessibility make my course WCAG compliant automatically?
No. It exposes your content to assistive technology, which is a necessary first step. You still need to add alt text, captions, and fix tab order yourself.
Related Guides
WCAG for eLearning: A Practical Introduction→
What WCAG actually is, and what it means for a Storyline or Rise course. No legal jargon.
The Complete Guide to Storyline Accessibility→
Everything instructional designers need to know to make Storyline 360 courses accessible, with a good and bad example for every check.
Storyline Accessibility Quick Checklist→
A fast, practical pass through your Storyline course before you publish it, 20 checks, about 15 minutes.
Alt Text Guide→
Alt text is a short written description of an image that a screen reader reads aloud in its place. Write what the image communicates, not what it looks like, and keep it under about a sentence.
Keyboard Navigation Guide→
Keyboard navigation means every interactive object in your course, buttons, links, quiz answers, layers, can be reached and used with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and arrow keys alone, with no mouse required.
Focus Order Guide→
Focus order is the order Tab moves through a slide's interactive elements. It should match the order things appear on screen, and it's checked by pressing Tab and watching where focus lands each time.
Color Contrast Guide→
Normal-sized text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 against its background, and large text needs at least 3 to 1. This is checked with a contrast checker tool, not a visual guess.
Closed Captions Guide→
The difference between captions and a transcript, and exactly how to add both in Storyline and Rise.
Table Structure Guide→
A data table needs its header row (or column) explicitly marked as a header, not just styled to look like one, so a screen reader can announce which column or row each cell belongs to as a learner moves through it.
Media Controls Guide→
Anything that plays sound or motion automatically, background audio, an auto-playing video, a looping animation, needs a way for the learner to pause, stop, or control it. Audio that autoplays for more than 3 seconds needs a pause, stop, or volume control under WCAG.
A11yCheck vs. Built-In and Generic Accessibility Checkers→
Storyline's built-in Accessibility Checker (added May 2025) and generic web tools like WAVE and axe each catch real issues, but neither reviews Rise, neither combines accessibility with course quality and engagement, and neither understands eLearning-specific structure. Here's exactly what each tool does well, and where A11yCheck fits.
Summary
Storyline gives you the settings WCAG requires, but almost none of them are on by default. Turn on accessibility, then work through alt text, captions, and tab order using the linked topic guides.
Review your course before you publish it.
A11yCheck reviews Storyline and Rise courses for:
- Accessibility
- Course Quality
- Course Engagement
www.a11ycheck-dev.com