TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Why add video?
- Video Requirements & Notes
- Things to Consider Before Using Video on Your Site
- Adding/Replacing Video
Why add video?
One of the most practical and effective ways to engage visitors on your website is by adding video. It can make for a more modern and dynamic looking website. Benefits of having video on your website include:
- Grabbing Attention
- Conveying a Message
- Showcase Personality/Narrative
- Promote Events
- Update and Inform
- Improve User Experience
- Better Search Rankings
Video can be added to a website as either a background element or as content on the page. Knowing the purpose of the video would determine which options are the best. Here are some examples:
- As a splash or "Hero" video-
- Short soundless videos to showcase your school.
- These are often on the home page and are a background element to a Row or Column.
- These are purely decorative.
- As content on the site via a Video widget, Media Slider widget, and in an Accordion widget. These could be:
- Promotional videos for an event
- Instructional videos like how to apply
- About videos like about your school
- Testimonial video from students, parents, alumni, etc.
Video Requirements & Notes
- Video can either be uploaded to the site or displayed using a link from YouTube or Vimeo.
- Video directly uploaded to the site should be 200MB or less and a web-safe format like MP4.
- Any file (text, image, video, and so on) uploaded to the system is publicly available. No personal and/or confidential information should be uploaded.
- Each site can contain up to video 100 files. Additional files result in an error message. The size limit per file is 200MB.
- Widgets like the Video Widget, Media Slider widget, and the Accordion widget can support video.
- All rows and columns have the ability to have video added as a background element.
- Not all widgets support video, for example the Image Slider Widget is strictly for images.
Things to Consider Before Using Video on Your Site
While video can easily be added on the website, it should not be taken lightly or for granted. It still takes thought as well as skill to successfully produce and use video. Things to keep in mind:
- Quality & Execution:
- Clear sound, steady footage, and good lighting are crucial to get right in any video.
- A well-executed video can add to your website, however a poorly-executed video can have an equal and opposite effect.
- NOT every video is worthy or of high enough quality to be on your site.
- If the video doesn't add to your site, then be okay with not using it.
- Focus on producing one or two exceptionally high-quality videos.
- Plan & Purpose:
- How and where will the video be used on the site?
- Is the purpose to decorate the site, or to inform the viewers?
- It all begins with having a purpose in mind, you should make a plan and have a use in mind for the video.
- For example, will it be a splash or hero video, or will it be an About Us video?
- IF it is an About Us video, it needs to be placed as content on the page so the user can hear it and control it.
- IF it is a hero video, it needs to be shorter and soundless.
- Keep it Short:
- A good rule to keep in mind is that the majority of videos on a site should be about 30-90 seconds.
- Viewer have short attention spans as such anything more than that is a waste of time.
- The only reason to go over 90 seconds is for videos such as a webinar or a demonstration.
- Load Times:
- Large videos can slow down load times.
- This is not a huge problem our websites because videos are automatically optimized for the best experience, however it should still be considered.
- Consider Contrast:
- When playing videos or using thumbnails, any text should contrast well against the background and be easily readable.
- Accessibility:
- If there is audio, be sure you also supply closed-captioning and or a script for viewers who need or want it.
- If there is audio, be sure you also supply closed-captioning and or a script for viewers who need or want it.
Adding/Replacing Video
Background Video (Decorative Video No Sound)
Many times a website design includes the use of a video splash/hero video on the Home page. In these cases the video is a background element to a row (or column).
To add or edit a background video:
- Click on the Row Tag and choose Edit Design
- Under the Background settings for the row choose Video
- You can then choose to Replace the video. You can also choose to use a YouTube or Vimeo url.
Background video will NOT play sound. YouTube Video is not support as a background on mobile. Be aware of contrast IF there is going to be text overlaying the video.
Video Widget (Video Content w/ Audio)
If the video has sounds that needs to play, then using a Video Widget is the best option.
- Open the Widgets panel, search for Video.
- Drag and Drop the widget on the page
- Under Content Select/Replace the video or supply a YouTube/Vimeo Link
All major browsers automatically mute videos that autoplay. Autoplay is not recommended.
Media Slider & Accordion Widgets (Decorative Video No Sound)
Video can also be used in widgets like the Media Slider and Accordion Widgets.
- Drag and drop the widget on the page
- Under Content for the Items choose the desired video media
- When looking at Media be sure to select the Video tab at the top
No sound is used with either widget, it is purely decorative. These widgets only support locally uploaded video and not external video (YouTube/Vimeo). Be thoughtful of contrast if overlaying the video with Text.
Pop-Ups with Video
Pop-ups act as miniature pages and thus can be a great solution and space-saver when using video. You can place the Video Widget on a Pop-up then use a button or link to open the pop-up.
- Add a button widget to a page (or any widget that has a button option) or create a link using text
- For the content set what the button links to and a pop-up
- Alternatively, you can use a Personalization Rule to open a pop-up that contains a video.
