A short clip of a boiler service, kitchen fit or finished garden can make sense without a long explanation. Captions help viewers who cannot hear the audio and make spoken instructions easier to follow in situations where sound is unavailable.
W3C's WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.2.2 is a Level A requirement for captions on prerecorded synchronized media, subject to the criterion's stated exceptions. W3C explains that captions should include dialogue and meaningful non-speech information, such as sound effects, and identify who is speaking where that matters.
Make the captions useful
For a trade video, check words that speech recognition commonly gets wrong: product names, measurements, street names, model numbers and technical terms. If someone says “six millimetres” but the captions show “six minutes”, the video can mislead.
Use captions for what is said, not as a second, unrelated marketing paragraph. Add speaker labels if more than one person talks, and describe a sound when it carries meaning, such as an alarm, a tool starting or a customer speaking off-camera.
Review automatic captions before sharing
Instagram's help centre describes automatic captions for Reels and videos, but features and controls can change. Watch the published preview from beginning to end:
- Check every technical word and number.
- Confirm the captions start and end at the right time.
- Make sure the text is not hidden behind platform buttons or your own overlays.
- Check contrast against the footage.
- Keep important visual details understandable without relying on audio alone.
Avoid placing captions over the exact work detail you want viewers to see. If the platform offers editable captions or a captions sticker, review the result on a phone before publishing.
Read W3C's captions guidance for prerecorded video and Instagram's guide to Reels and video captions. For choosing a format, see our short-job video guide for tradespeople.