Videos on websites: best practices

So, you’re thinking about adding video to your website? Or maybe you’re looking at ways to improve your video content - whatever your reason, we think adding video content to your website is a no-brainer, and here are five reasons why…

Don’t have time to watch our quick video? We’ve summarized those incredible statistics below:

1. A website with video is 53x more likely to reach the front page of Google. (Insivia)
2. Video on a website increases organic search by 157%. (Conversion XL)
3. Nearly 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store. (Hubspot)
4. We spend an average of 2.6x more time on pages with video than without. (Wistia)
5. Video on a landing page can boost conversion rates by up to 80%. (Unbounce)

Clearly, video on websites is something we just can’t shy away from. So how can you make sure your video content is optimized to improve your overall performance? We’ve put our heads together to come up with some best practice tips that’ll help you achieve amazing results.

1. With or without sound. That is the question...

And the answer is, both! Your video needs to be able to be played with and without any audio. If it makes sense only with a voice-over, you need to reconsider your approach. But most importantly you need to cater to all of our website visitors. They may be browsing your website on their commute and the last thing they want is for your video to blare through their earphones or worse, their phone speaker in a crowded tube. 

2. Consider external hosting

When you host your own video content, you’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything possible to reduce the impact on your page speed performance, especially when you’ve got a lengthy video. This is an important factor for all users because pages with longer load times (often due to native video hosting) typically result in higher bounce rates and lower average time on page.

Now external hosting isn’t always the answer, but it must always be a consideration. If you do choose to host your video content externally - like on YouTube or Vimeo - you can embed directly onto your website. It also opens up more options for video quality; you’ll have more flexibility on file size or length, plus your content is now discoverable across multiple locations. 

3. Autoplay vs push to play. Which is best?

Consider all elements on your website and ask yourself, “Is there a lot of noise and motion already there”? If so, don’t play your video automatically. If it’s a relatively static site autoplay is a great option to bring movement and life to the page. Your video should be seen as a key feature of each page and something that belongs. 

4. Define its purpose

Surely this one goes without saying, but without purpose, your video will stick out like a sore thumb… in all the wrong ways. Why are you adding a video to your website? Is it to explain your service? Are you showcasing your customer testimonials? Define the why first, and then focus on how you will visually represent it. Which leads us nicely onto our 5th tip…

5. Make sure it’s visually appealing

If your video lacks visual appeal, your audiences won’t engage or watch it. And if people don’t watch your video, you probably won’t achieve any of those amazing statistics. But creating a visually appealing video doesn’t mean you have to spend crazy amounts of cash on professional videographers or animators.

There is a range of video creation tools out there - like VideoScribe - that do all the heavy lifting for you, leaving you with a polished, professional-looking video at a fraction of the price. Check out our pricing page to see what we mean. 

6. Call-to-action. Your final point and our final tip! 

For anyone who stays up-to-date with our blog content, you’ll know just how important we think a call-to-action is in every video. A call-to-action is your moment to tell your viewer what to do next. Is it to book in a demo? Buy your product or service? Get in contact? Your call-to-action doesn’t have to be another 5 minutes long. It can be as simple as text at the end of your video, literally telling them what to do next. 

By following these best practice tips, your website is set to benefit from engaged viewers arriving - and staying - on your website page. They’ll enjoy what you have to show them, and take the action that you’ve decided you want them to take. Hello conversions, goodbye high bounce rates. 

Let VideoScribe help you!

There are so many brands and businesses out there using VideoScribe to create their website video content… and you should too. Using our software, you can turn your complex idea into a visually engaging video. You don’t have to be a professional animator, designer, or videographer because VideoScribe does all the hard work for you. Our library has over 8,000+ pre-animated images that you just simply drag and drop onto your canvas. 

Sign-up today for your free 7-day trial and see why over 4,000 videos are created in VideoScribe every day! Already started your trial? Upgrade to a monthly or yearly subscription to create your website video and so much more.