As you may know, video files often take up a lot of storage. And now, professional cameras are more affordable than ever while the standard technical specifications improving every year. It is not uncommon to see videos in 4K resolution made from independent filmmakers as today’s smartphones are equipped with high-definition cameras to fuel the growth in content we see in social media.
When talking about video on the web, we often think of an online streaming platform like YouTube to view them. We often forget why streaming platforms like YouTube are unique to other websites in that they are able to support an immense amount of videos.
In fact, it is estimation that 80,000 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every day amounting to about 24 terabytes of data.
Video streaming websites must have warehouse-sized database systems and servers to handle all the video files and web traffic. Obviously, this type of resource is out of the question for those operating with their own WordPress blogs. In order for smaller websites to effectively support video files, there are a combination of approaches that can work depending on the purpose of your content, budget, and overall style of your blog. The following three options to consider are inspired from a ThemeTrust article called “Video Hosting for WordPress: Platforms to Use, Video Player Plugins & More“.
The first option is to upload the video files to your own server on WordPress.
This is done by using the default media uploader. Some limitations are the size of the video and the membership tier of your WordPress account. However, even with optimized video files and a premium WordPress account, videos hosted on your own server can drastically slow your website and cause other performance issues. I have seen this most commonly when trying to attach a video as a background of a landing page, meaning a video takes up the whole screen and is meant to be the first thing seen by a website visitor. While this may look really nice, it will inconvenience website visitors with slow loading times and they may scroll past the video before it even loads on their screen. Because of this, it is important to be very resourceful with your own WordPress server and only upload a couple of video files that do not take up too much space.
The second option when working with video files is offloading content to an external server outside of your WordPress account.
Amazon S3 is commonly used and is seen to be quite reliable for a variety of websites, but remember to do your research before paying for an external server. Amazon S3 is free during your first year and is still very affordable after that with a plugin called WP Offload S3 Lite. Higher priced external servers may support more data but may also be easier to setup and use. Be sure to look for additional guides, forums, and other resources to refer back to when you need help and consider the availability of these resources when choosing an external server. Some external servers are much more complicated to use and require a certain level of technical expertise. While a content creator that is just starting out may not seriously consider this option for its complexity, using an external server like Amazon S3 to store video files will improve website speeds and will likely provide a long-term solution going forward. When managing a website that regularly posts new video content, depending on an external server will prove to be a very reliable option that may come at a small cost, depending on your budget.
The third option is embedding video content that is hosting by a third party streaming platform.
The most well-known video streaming platform is YouTube followed by Vimeo. There are other options, such as Wistia, but they all do the same thing: they host videos you upload so you can embed them on your website only using a link. The difference between them is pricing, as YouTube is completely free, Vimeo is free up to 5 gigabytes of storage, and Wistia is a premium service with monthly plans starting at $99 a month. YouTube has become the most popular by being the most accessible. However, YouTube makes their money through ad revenue, meaning that almost every video begins with a short video advertisement that the viewer cannot skip. Unless the viewer has a premium YouTube account, they will always see ads for other businesses on your videos. Other platforms like may offer solutions for ad-free content, but they come at a price. Consider this when choosing the right third party streaming platform. Because we are talking about working with video within your own website, it is difficult to ignore the simplicity and convenience of using a platform like YouTube. After all, uploading videos to YouTube that generate high amounts of views and traffic can earn you a piece of that ad revenue. However, this extra source of income is most accessible on YouTube and some blogs or websites may not want to have their videos on another platform away from their website. You can solve this by uploading videos using an unlisted or private link, or use another option altogether.
I know my options, now what?
Before you decide on a solution for your video storage needs, consider the purpose of your video content and its intended audience. Unfortunately, because video files take up so much storage, your budget is also an important factor when making this decision. However, there are many options that are available for any budget. For me, the most important thing is to encourage users to visit your website and stay there for extended periods of time. By finding an effective solution to upload videos on your website, a user will be more likely to consume multiple pieces of content without having to leave your website. This means a higher chance of a user joining your email list, buying a product, booking a service, or sharing a post with a friend. This conversion rate is highly dependent on a user’s positive experience while viewing your website. Therefore, placing an importance on efficient video embedding is important for web designers, developers, marketers, content producers, and anyone that works with digital media.
