Allow users to play, pause and stop any moving content
Any moving, blinking or scrolling information that (1) starts automatically, (2) lasts more than five seconds, and (3) is presented in parallel with other content, needs to have the mechanism for the user to pause, stop, or hide it.
In context. Think twice about those GIF heavy backgrounds. Don't autoplay videos on entering a page. And ensure any moving content, such as carousels or slideshows have the right controls to be able to pause or stop them so the user engage with your page.
Best practice
Developing accessible, moving features
When developing moving features such as a slideshow or carousel, or scrolling the web for a off the shelf modules, plugins, or JavaScript libraries ensure you follow these principles.
All controls must be operable with a keyboard, and must have clear visible focus. For additional information about these issues see Designing for Keyboard Accessibility and Providing Visible Focus for Keyboard Users.
All content must be labeled and described so that screen reader users have full access to the content and can operate the controls for exploring the content. See also Making Images Accessible.
Must include a prominent means by which all users can pause the display, such as a large pause button. People who are easily distracted can find it very difficult to concentrate on other page content if their attention is repeatedly drawn back to moving content. In keeping with the previous two techniques, the pause button must be accessible with keyboard alone, and must be labeled for screen reader users. It should be positioned at the start of the slideshow in the source code so keyboard users can access it easily without having to navigate through all the other content.
Ideally, auto-advancing features should be off by default. By providing a prominent Play button, users who are interested in the feature’s content and want to explore it further can easily do so. This provides users with a choice to explore content, rather than forcing them to do so.
