Are background videos destroying your website?

Background videos on websites: Trend or tragedy? In this article, we take a look at the pros and cons of these visual elements and their impact on the performance and SEO of your website.

Advantages of videos on the website

Good option to convey a message

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video can tell a whole story. Products or services that are difficult to explain in static images can be brought to life with a well-placed background video. The emotional connection between users and content can be created more effectively through moving images.

Advantages of videos for SEO

Search engines love high-quality content, and videos are no exception. Well-optimized videos can increase the visibility of your website in search results. Video content is viewed favorably by search algorithms, and if it's relevant and engaging, it can increase the time spent on your website.

The disadvantages of videos on websites

Display on mobile devices

With the rise of mobile internet usage, it's crucial that your website works smoothly on different devices. However, background videos can cause problems on mobile devices as they can consume bandwidth and increase loading time. It is important to ensure that videos are responsive and adapt well to different screen sizes.

Slow loading speed

Loading speed is a crucial factor for user experience and search engine optimization. Background videos tend to slow down the loading time, especially if they are in high quality. This can cause visitors to become impatient and leave the page, which has a negative impact on the bounce rate.

How should background videos be integrated?

The trick is to integrate background videos correctly to take advantage of their benefits without amplifying their drawbacks. Here are some tips:

• Optimize the video size: Make sure that the video file size is optimized to minimize loading time. Videos with a size of less than 2 MB would be perfect, which unfortunately is often not possible. Usually the image size is between 5 and 10 MB. Larger videos should not be included.
• Deactivate autoplay (if possible): Avoid playing videos automatically to improve user-friendliness. This is usually not possible with background videos.
• Mobile customization: Make sure that the videos work well on mobile devices and do not affect the loading time. Another option would be to only integrate the video as a background on desktop devices and to integrate the video into the content on mobile devices, if only to save data volume.
• Deactivate audio: Background videos should not contain audio under any circumstances. Audio usually has no added value in this context and only makes the video file larger.
• Integrate a placeholder image: Always set a placeholder image for your video. This is displayed as long as the video is loading or if it cannot be loaded.

Conclusion

Background videos can provide a stunning visual display on your website, but they should be used wisely. If integrated correctly, they can improve user engagement and SEO. Otherwise, they could affect load time and put off potential visitors. Find the right balance to ensure that background videos are an asset and not a liability to your website.

If you have any questions on this topic or need help, please feel free to ask us.