Avoid autoplaying media

Autoplaying audio drowns out screen reader speech, startles users, and wastes bandwidth—providing user control is essential for accessibility and good UX.

Quick Reference

• Never autoplay audio—it interferes with screen readers
• If video must autoplay, ensure it's muted by default
• Provide immediately accessible pause/stop controls
• Autoplay should stop after 5 seconds or provide stop mechanism

Check

Verify no audio or video autoplays on page load. If autoplay is essential, confirm media is muted by default and pause controls are immediately accessible via keyboard within the first few tab stops.

Fix

Remove autoplay attributes from media elements. If autoplay is required, add muted attribute and provide prominent, keyboard-accessible pause controls. Consider adding a global pause button for pages with multiple media elements.