6 Tips for Using a Website Background Video Effectively

by Robert Clough

A popular food blogging website saw a 138% improvement in conversion by adding a video background on their homepage. The video cost them $12 to download. Talk about a huge return on investment!

Read on to learn everything you need to know about adding a website background video, what kind of video to use and what not to do.

1. A Website Background Video Must Serve a Purpose

Videos naturally catch a website visitor’s eye because they have movement. However, you should always make sure your video has a purpose. Websites with video backgrounds can do several things: show off a vibe, set a mood, or elicit an emotion in the viewer.

2. Let Viewers Know Who You Are

You can use video to get to know who you are before they ever pick up the phone or walk through your doors. Your website background video can show them what they can expect when you use your services. Background videos for websites are excellent options if you are selling a product. You can help your website visitors experience the benefits of your products through a well-crafted video.

Your video is a powerful tool that can convince your customers to buy your product before they have read one word of text on your site. If you are selling experiences, you can create the sense of peace, excitement or fun that your organization provides. A spa, a hotel, an escape room, a restaurant all use videos to show viewers exactly how great their experience will be.

3. Use Short Videos that Loop

The only way your video is going to impress your visitors is if it works. The larger the video file, the longer it will take to load. Website visitors spend 7 seconds scanning a webpage to decide if they want to stay on it or not. If your video hasn’t loaded, they’ll be out of there and onto the next search engine result. Speaking of which, check out our free SEO tools to help you rank higher on Google.

So, to ensure that your website loads quickly, keep your video short and sweet. As a general rule, your video should be 5-10 seconds long. The video file size should be 6MB or less. You should make the video loop for two reasons. 1, it makes the video seem longer. And 2, visitors may wander around your website and come back to the top of your page. Keep your company’s fresh vibe in their mind.

4. Don’t Add Sound

Employees spend almost 25% of their time on websites that have nothing to do with their jobs. Do everyone in the office a favor and don’t add audio to your videos. An auto-playing audio clip is one of the worst things for user experience. You want to entice your visitors, not annoy them.

Chances are the trendy, upbeat audio that you think is perfect for your video will be annoying to someone else. You can present a masterful story that intrigues your visitors without any sound at all. If you are using a video that comes with audio, remove it or mute the audio before you upload it to your website.

5. Hide Video Controls

When you use video backgrounds for websites, remember that it is not the same as a video you might have elsewhere on your website.

By definition, a background video is one that is an accent to your website and not something that the users have control of. If you add video controls, it will no longer be a background item. If you want to add a video tutorial, interview, tour of your space and so on, feel free to do that. Just don’t make it your background video. Place it elsewhere on your website and feel free to add video controls to these videos.

6. Contrast Text and Video

If you plan to overlay some text on top of your background videos for websites, make sure that the text is legible. The best way to accomplish this is to use contrast. If your video is dark, use lighter text or vice versa. This will ensure that your viewers don’t miss any important text or a call to action.

While you are selecting the right colors for your text, keep your brand in mind. You will want to match the style of the rest of your website so that your video is cohesive with the rest of your pages. Try to use videos that use a limited color palette, especially one that fits with your branding. If you aren’t able to make your own video and are using stock videos, you can still make these videos match your style with filters and overlays. Use Adobe Premiere, CSS filter property on your browser or even video apps on your smartphone to adjust the colors.

You can add these elements to create an aesthetic that fits the mood you want to evoke. Play around with saturation, blur, and opacity until you find a look that fits with the rest of your website and with the mood you want to create. Need a hand with your digital marketing? Silverback strategies can help you increase leads and sales.

Bottom Line

Anytime you try a new marketing tactic (like a website background video), the most important thing is to enhance user experience. You don’t want to decrease it. Follow these 6 tips to make sure that your video gets you the results you want.

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