Creating accessible subtitles doesn’t require professional training, but it does need understanding of what makes them effective. More cultural organisations are recognising that captioning isn’t just a technical add-on, it’s becoming a core digital skill. Good captions don’t only serve deaf, deafened and hard of hearing audiences, they support learning, improve comprehension, and enables more people to access the information you have to share.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Subtitles serve far more people than you might expect. Around 18 million UK adults are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing, that’s one in three people. Age related hearing loss affects 50% of people over 50 and 80% of those over 70. Only 1% of deaf people use British Sign Language well, so most people need text to understand what’s being said.
For most people with some form of deafness, the challenge isn’t that everything sounds quieter, it’s that parts of words become unclear or disappear entirely. Quality subtitles fill in these missing pieces, giving important information that hearing aids can’t always provide.
In our sessions with DCN (Digital Culture Network), we’ve looked at how to handle subtitles well and what tools work for different organisations.
Want to learn more?
- Read our guide on how to create captions on the DCN Knowledge Hub
- Look at Stagetext’s helpful information about making content accessible
- Watch our webinar recording: “Everything you wanted to know about subtitling (but were afraid to ask)“
- Watch our other webinar recording: “End-to-End Access: A digital approach to inclusivity for deaf visitors“
