Adding Video to your website
Content taken from older UK website builder blog posts
Adding Video to your website
Please note this article was first published in 20 Apr 2010. Its content may now be out of date. We recommend taking a look at more recent website building blog posts or check out our comprehensive support pages. If you are looking for information on our 14 day free website builder trial we have a large number of webpages that guide you throug the process.
Adding Video to your website
Since You Tube was launched in 2005, videos have become commonplace on websites big and 
small. Used properly they can add real value. Videos bring a dimension to a site that’s difficult to achieve with words and pictures alone. If you build a site using a website builder it’s just as easy to add your own videos. It can also be free too!
Adding video
Top reasons for adding video to your website
There are a few reasons why you may consider adding video to your website.
- Use as a selling tool to boost sales
- Demonstrate your product or service
- Produce training guides or video manuals
- Personalise your business by showing a human side
Top pitfalls to avoid when using video
Although creating videos for your website can add real value, it can also be damaging. The following tips will help you avoid the pitfalls.
- Ensure that your video looks professional
- Don’t create a video just for the sake of it. Ensure it serves a real purpose
- Could the content of the video be better demonstrated with an annotated image?
- Don’t create a page that is full of just videos. Strategically position them on appropriate pages to get the most benefit.
Methods of adding video
There are two ways in which video can be added to your website.
Uploading directly to your site
You can upload the video directly to the files that form your website. Once the video is uploaded you need to embed a video player into the page and tell the player where the video files are located.
There are a couple of disadvantages to using this method. When you embed a video onto a page the video will need to load before it can begin playing. As it can take several minutes you run the risk of users not waiting, and clicking away from your pages. The video can also slow down your page load times, (a metric that Google looks at when determining your position within the search engines). You will also need to pay the storage costs for uploading the video to your site. If you are only intend uploading one video then the costs are minimal. However if you plan to use many, the costs may begin to mount.
Using a free streaming service
There are now numerous video streaming sites available such as You Tube or Vimeo. They allow users to create an account and upload videos free of charge. Once the video is uploaded you can use their tools to easily embed it into external websites or blogs. This way the site pays the storage and streaming charges instead of you.
Once the video is uploaded and you’ve chosen the format of your player the site creates a few lines of code. When this code is added to your website it automatically embeds a player and connects it to the video you uploaded to their site. Their sophisticated streaming technology reduces the delay often experienced with videos. As the video isn’t actually uploaded as part of your website it doesn’t affect your website loading speed.
Click here for a full guide to Adding the code to your website
Please remember, this article was first published 20/04/2010. The content may be out of date and you cannot post comments any more. Please check out our new blog.
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