How to Add Captions to YouTube Videos
To add captions to YouTube videos, the steps are simple: generate the captions using a tool, then upload them to the correct part of the video settings. Where you might be lost is the actual step-by-step process.
If you post video content on YouTube – full-length ones or shorts – it’s important you include captions. Not only are they good for views, but it’s a part of the WCAG guidelines that captions are included in video content. If you find this a daunting task, we’re here to help. Let’s review exactly how to add captions to your YouTube videos.
Check out our guide on how to actually write effective captions and transcripts for videos. And if you really want to take a deep dive, read up on translation, subtitle, and captioning tools on YouTubes support site.
How to Generate Auto-Captions
When you upload and publish a video to YouTube, you don’t really need to do anything to “make” automatic captions. YouTube will generate them once someone selects the option while watching the video.
What we can do is make sure that YouTube will generate captions in the language we want.
- Log into your YouTube account
- Using the menu below your user profile picture, go to the YouTube Studio
- Go to “Subtitles” on the left
- Select a video from the list
- Select a language from the dropdown
- Before you click “Confirm,” select the box “make this the default for my channel”
The subtitles should adopt the language you set when you created your profile. But it’s worthwhile to double-check and make sure it’s using the correct one.
How to Edit Auto-Captions
Frequently, YouTube auto-captions are incorrect. They may use the wrong words, the wrong versions of words, or skip things entirely. If you do want to use this feature, we highly recommend that you review the auto-captions and fix any mistakes.
Note that when you edit auto-captions, a new caption track will be created using your revisions.
Go to the “Subtitles” section of the YouTube studio and select the video you want to edit.
Hover the cursor over the “Published” line for automatic captions, then select the pencil icon.
The following screen will give you an editor containing all of the automatically generated YouTube captions for that video. Now, you can edit the text directly from this screen. Click where you want and begin editing like you would with any other text editor.
You can even edit the timing of the words by choosing the “Edit Timing” button and adjusting the timestamps to match up with when you want a sentence to start and end.
When you’re finished editing, select the “Publish” button in the top right. The changes may take up to a few hours to actually appear on the site.
How to Upload Custom Captions (recommended)
Generating and editing auto-captions is a great way to go if you don’t have the resources to write up your own captions. But if you can, the best way to provide a stellar experience for viewers is to upload your own custom captions.
You don’t need to type out every word. You can use tools like Rev, GoTranscript and 3Play Media to generate captions that have been reviewed for accuracy. You’ll get the captions as a .srt file, or a text transcript as a .txt file. Once you have that file, here’s what you do.
- Log into your YouTube account
- Using the menu below your user profile picture, go to the YouTube Studio
- Go to “Subtitles” on the left
- Select a video from the list
- Select a language from the dropdown
- On the following screen, hover over the blank space next to (video language)
- Select the pencil icon
- On the following screen, you‘ll be able to add captions in multiple ways. You can upload the .srt or .txt file, type them in manually, and auto-sync
- Choose “Upload File
- Select either “with timing” or “without timing”
- Upload your file from your computer
- Select “Save”
And there you have it! Custom and correct captions for your viewers to enjoy. If you still need a hand, or want to learn more about web accessible content, reach out today.