--- title: "How to Create Subtitle Files" description: "In this article: Create a Subtitle FileTipsPopular Software Web accessibility deserves more attention. This is why we cover important tasks like testing website accessibility with Tenon.io and..." url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/live-broadcasting/create-subtitle-files/ date: 2019-09-16 modified: 2021-11-04 author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor" categories: ["Live Broadcasting"] type: post lang: en --- # How to Create Subtitle Files **In this article:** - [Create a Subtitle File](#create) - [Tips](#tips) - [Popular Software](#software) Web accessibility deserves more attention. This is why we cover important tasks like [testing website accessibility with Tenon.](/support/website/test-website-accessibility-with-tenon-io/)[io](/support/website/test-website-accessibility-with-tenon-io/) and improving WordPress accessibility. It takes more time but the effort benefits blind, deaf, and other disabled users who may want to support your brand - if you support them. With YouTube being the second most popular search engine, video content can drive a lot of new traffic to your website. But users with disabilities, who don't know the language fluently, or simply in a noisy environment, may need an additional feature to enjoy your videos - **subtitles**. Also known as **closed captions** when related to TV and DVD, subtitles transcribe or translate verbal dialog while a video is playing. There are many file formats, subtitle types, and methods to add subtitles to a video. In some cases, it's best to hardcode subtitles directly into the video. For videos uploaded to Vimeo, YouTube, or your server, you can create a softsub, or closed subtitle. This means the subtitles are in a separate file from the original video. These files are small. Our example below will use the SubRip (.SRT) format - less than five kilobytes for 18 subtitles - and can be created with any text editor. The format is simple. Each subtitle within the file has the following format: Subtitle Number Start time --> End time (HH:MM:SS,MLS / Hour:Minute:Second,Milliseconds) Text Our example below will include subtitles for the deaf or hard-of-hearing (SDH) to be more accessible to the hearing impaired. Below we'll cover how to **create a subtitle file, useful tips, and popular software**. ## Create a Subtitle 1. Open a text editor on your computer - e.g. NotePad, [CherryTree](/support/website/create-html-pages-with-cherrytree/). 2. Add as many captions as needed with a subtitle number, start and end time, and text. For example:`1 ``00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:06,000``Rey: This text will show from the one through six second marks. ``2 ``00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,000 ``Rey: This will show from the six through ten second marks. ``3 ``00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,000 `` ``4 ``00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 ``Amy: Sorry!` 3. Save the file as the same file-name as the video but with the .SRT extension in the same folder. 4. (Optional) If the video is saved on your local workstation, open it in a media player that supports subtitles to test that your subtitle shows automatically. [VLC Media Player](https://wiki.videolan.org/Subtitles/) is a popular option. After you create your .SRT file, you can [upload it to your server](/support/website/how-to-upload-files-server/) alongside your video, [Vimeo](https://vimeo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/224968828-Captions-and-subtitles), or [YouTube](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en). **5 seconds:** Check out our [VPS Hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/vps-hosting) to learn how to host your own videos without sacrificing website performance. ## A few Tips - Convert the SRT file to Web Video Text Tracks (WebVTT - .vtt) for the ability to use basic HTML elements like **bold** and *italic* - e.g. *Rey: This text will show from the one through six second marks.* - Try to limit each subtitle to 2 lines for easier reading during the video. - Be mindful that user settings can affect subtitle text and background appearance. - It may be helpful to provide instructions on using subtitles with popular software if your videos are downloadable. - Some video editors can hardcode subtitles. ## Popular Software There are video editors and dedicated software with advanced options such as specifying time-frames using the video audio waveform visualization: | **Software** | **Windows** | **Mac** | **Unix** | **Online** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Aegisub](https://www.aegisub.org/) | X | X | X | | | [VLC Media Player](https://www.videolan.org/vlc/) | X | X | X | | | [Subtitle Editor](https://kitone.github.io/subtitleeditor/) | | | X | | | [YouTube Video Creator](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796) | | | | X | Learn more from our other [Accessibility articles](/support/) or [a11yproject](https://a11yproject.com/resources/)[.com](https://a11yproject.com/resources/).