Visually Striking: Embedding Videos into Your Website

By Brian Disbot, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Embed Videos Image
Photo by Joseph Redfield on Pexels

We are a visually oriented society; from films and photography to illustration and art, we are stimulated in unique ways by endlessly varying combinations of pictures and motion. It follows that designing a website is a visually intense, interactive experience. There are many different aspects of style and design to consider. Whether aligning a page, picking the perfect graphic, or choosing a complementary color scheme, website designs are full of visual stimulation.

After creating an attractive design for your site, you should consider adding a video to your post or page. Videos are incredibly effective website tools because people usually prefer to watch a video rather than read a large block of text. Video gives the site viewer information in a more accessible and appealing format. Inserting videos into your website is an efficient way to inform visitors about your site and persuade them to spend more time browsing. Adding a commercial to your site, as well as YouTube or Vimeo, allows your business to reach a wider audience. Keeping your site updated with videos of interesting and relevant content will encourage people to visit your website more often.

There are two major methods to using a video on your website: you can either have a professional, high-quality video made for your company or embed a video that is relevant to your business and deals with a subject that your clients may find interesting.  Making a video for your company does not mean simply sitting in front of a webcam and describing your business or successes. Your video should be created by a professional who understands you, your target audience, and what you want to say about your business and website.

To add a video to your site, here are a few programs, like Video LightBox, that require you to download their software in order to embed videos. This type of program often includes features that allow you to customize the appearance of the video to help integrate it with your website’s design theme.

If you have a basic understanding of HTML, there is an even simpler option. Everything on the Internet, from text to links to dropdown menus, requires specific code that computers recognize and translate into a format that you are familiar with. This same kind of coding applies to embedding a video into your website.

First, find or create a video that you want to put on your website. YouTube is a great resource for uploading your videos or finding one you want to share. Then save the video to your computer using one of the various sites that translate the video code into a format (like MP4) that you can save on your computer and use on the Internet. Websites like SaveTube.com, SaveYouTube.com, and KeepVid are easy to use and effective, allowing you to save the video to your computer and then upload it to your site. If you use WordPress to edit your site, there are a number of easy-to-use plugins that can help you embed a video into your page or post.

Adding video is a simple process that can dramatically improve your site. Videos are constantly watched all over the Internet and embedding one on your website makes the content more accessible and, if updated consistently, the video will attract more and more people to your site. Video is a modern must-have for any website.

Posted in: Austin Web Design, How To, Web Design, WWW Learning Center

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