Are interactive demos accessible to screen readers?

Only partly, and only with effort. The demo controls can be made fully accessible, but the captured screens are images with no inherent text, so your captions have to carry the meaning. If the caption sequence read alone tells a coherent story, the demo works without the images.

How do I make my demo accessible?

Write captions that stand alone without the screenshots, zoom into small text rather than expecting viewers to squint, and check that your published demo can be operated entirely by keyboard with visible focus. Respecting reduced-motion settings matters too.

Can I claim WCAG conformance for an interactive demo?

Not on the basis of a vendor's marketing claims. Tab through your own published demo and see what happens. Conformance depends on both the tool's controls and your own caption and contrast choices, so it is never a property of the tool alone.

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Making Interactive Demos Accessible

August 19, 2026

Interactive demos have a structural accessibility problem that is easy to miss: the content is images, and images carry no text.

Some of this is on your demo tool and some is on you. Both parts are worth knowing, particularly if you sell to government, education, healthcare, or any enterprise with a procurement checklist.

What the tool should handle

Keyboard navigation. Every control reachable and operable without a mouse, in a sensible order.
Visible focus. A viewer tabbing through needs to see where they are.
Respecting reduced motion. Animated transitions and camera moves should quieten when the operating system asks for it, which matters for vestibular disorders and not only for preference.
Sensible semantics. Controls that are actual buttons rather than clickable divs, so assistive technology can describe them.

What only you can handle

The meaning of each screen. A screenshot of a dashboard is an opaque rectangle to a screen reader, and no tool can infer what it was meant to show.

Your captions are what carry that meaning. Written well, they are simultaneously the accessibility layer and the thing that makes the demo good for everyone -- which is the happy case where doing the right thing costs nothing extra.

Write captions that stand alone

Test by reading only the caption text, in order, with the images hidden. If the sequence still tells a coherent story, the demo works for someone who cannot see the screenshots.

"Click here" fails this test immediately. "Overdue items across every project, in one view" passes it, and is a better caption for sighted viewers too.

Contrast and text size in captured screens

Viewers see demos scaled down, often well below the size you recorded at. Text that is comfortable at full size can fall below usable contrast and size once scaled.

Zoom into the part that matters rather than relying on the viewer to squint. This is the same advice as for legibility generally -- accessibility and clarity converge here almost completely.

If you are answering a procurement questionnaire

Be specific about what is yours and what is the tool's. You control caption quality, contrast within your captured product, and whether the flow makes sense without images. The tool controls keyboard operation, focus handling and motion preferences.

Do not claim WCAG conformance for a demo on the strength of your vendor's marketing page. Tab through your own published demo and see what actually happens -- that takes two minutes and is the only answer worth giving.

Frequently asked questions

Are interactive demos accessible to screen readers?: Only partly, and only with effort. The demo controls can be made fully accessible, but the captured screens are images with no inherent text, so your captions have to carry the meaning. If the caption sequence read alone tells a coherent story, the demo works without the images.
How do I make my demo accessible?: Write captions that stand alone without the screenshots, zoom into small text rather than expecting viewers to squint, and check that your published demo can be operated entirely by keyboard with visible focus. Respecting reduced-motion settings matters too.
Can I claim WCAG conformance for an interactive demo?: Not on the basis of a vendor's marketing claims. Tab through your own published demo and see what happens. Conformance depends on both the tool's controls and your own caption and contrast choices, so it is never a property of the tool alone.

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