Did you know the average person spends 15 seconds on your website?
It’s no wonder that people are looking for ways to capture the reader and keep them on their site.
Providing video content is a great way to increase traffic and have them stay longer. But videos need to load quick.
Keep reading for six tips on how to make videos load faster.
6 Tips on How to Make Videos Load Faster on Your Site
Adding videos can be a double-edged sword because users love high-resolution videos but if your site can’t handle it then it will cause performance problems. The goal here is to learn how to make videos load faster to keep readers on your site instead of driving them away.
Why is Video Optimization Important?
Having multimedia content helps keep users engaged and stay on your website longer. This is why more people are adding videos to their web pages but sometimes don’t realize that large videos that aren’t optimized will hurt their site. If the video files are not optimized for the internet they will buffer and slow down the website load times.
The point of having a website is to keep readers there checking out what you have. The last thing you want is to drive them away because of a slow video you have. Customers get annoyed when websites are slow or crash while they are visiting.
1. Compress Videos
Files are sometimes too large when they are edited. This is an issue when putting videos on your site because poor internet or limited bandwidth leads to videos that buffer or videos pausing. This is not a great experience for your site visitor.
There are tools that can be used such as HandBrake to compress your video but still have the option of keeping its quality. Videos are a great touch to your site but if your visitor can’t see it without buffering it will turn them away.
2. Convert for HTML5
Convert videos to a format that won’t cause problems when they are opened on a browser. Videos that you create in editing suites or that you get from a friend are usually in a format that causes run time problems on most browsers.
You can use an online video converter to convert your video files to HTML5 formats such as WebM. This will ensure that your video is accepted and played without a problem by browsers including phone browsers.
3. Stream from Server
Thanks to streaming technology this is an option nowadays. When the internet first became popular users had to wait for video files to be fully downloaded before they could view it.
Streaming technology allows video files to be delivered in small chunks. This makes the videos ready for playback in the user’s browser.
4. CDN
A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that store cached copies of your site’s static assets. CDN’s ensure that content comes from the nearest edge server to ensure faster content delivery. This works great with videos so that users don’t have to wait forever for your site’s videos to download and buffer.
Using a CDN will improve your site’s overall performance.
5. Video Loop
Don’t loop a video endlessly when using a background video on your site. This uses a lot of CPU which slows down the rest of your site. You can set the video to stop after it plays once or set it to pause after it plays for several seconds.
6. Keep Video Size as Small as Possible
The smaller the video the less like the video will buffer. Smaller videos also allow your page to load faster and will help visitors that are using their mobile phones to use less data while they’re on your site.
If you’re adding a video that will play continuously stick to a shorter video that can loop seamlessly. This will keep it from distracting from the rest of your page.
Benefits of Video
If your video content is adding value to the user experience it benefits will outweigh the costs added to your page load. Video can boost your websites SEO as long as they are optimized for the web and not slowing down your site. Video can also strengthen your brand message.
People are visual and when they see a video they remember it more than when they read something. Videos are shared more than any content out there. This puts your video in front of new potential viewers, in turn, increasing your site traffic.
Video content performs well on all devices including mobile phones. The key here is to make sure your content is optimized for mobile users as well. If the video content isn’t optimized for certain devices chances are the user won’t have the patience to wait.
Common Misconception
There’s a common misconception that you can create a ton of videos and put them up on the internet and magically attract attention and have a million shares. Sorry but that’s not how video marketing works.
Creating video content has to be memorable, timely, relevant, and optimized if you want to see a return on investment in your time.
Ready to Add Videos like a Pro?
All the tips above on how to make videos load faster should have you feeling more confident next time you add a video to your site. As long as you optimize your video files it will have minimal impact on your site’s performance. When you add new videos or spruce up the videos you already have keep track of your conversions and analytics.
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