Auto Videos in Shopify – Vancouver Shopify Expert

Audio and video can be a powerful way to attract customers, tell your story, and even increase conversion rates, but recent trends from companies that develop browsers make it more difficult to use video and audio in your Shopify theme -especially if you need to It plays automatically.

Almost all major browsers-Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari -have at least some restrictions on video, especially video with audio, which prevents it from playing automatically, and these restrictions become even more pronounced on tablets and smartphones strict.

Bottom line – Vancouver Shopify Website Design

The bottom line of auto-playing video or audio is that you should no longer rely on its work-no matter what device or multimedia file format you use.

Browser

Almost all popular web browsers have an option, whether it is built-in or provided through plug-ins or add-ons, to prevent automatic playback of video and audio according to user preferences.

This can be done globally-that is, the browser may be instructed to prevent all video instances from starting automatically. This feature can also be blocked on a per-site basis, or the browser may use machine learning and the user’s browsing history to determine whether audio or video files should be played automatically.

We will not delve into the nuances of what a browser does, not only because it is constantly changing, but also because there are usually too many variables to generalize hard rules.

It is also important to note that autoplay rules are most likely to change and may become stricter over time-so preparing these tips now will be a good step in preparing your website for the future.

Silent video – Vancouver Shopify Expert

Generally speaking, if you want to increase the possibility of a video playing automatically, removing the sound is a good first step.

In most Shopify themes, this is most commonly used for large, full-width video backgrounds that may have text or other elements, and this is a great way to create eye-catching heroic elements for your store.

However, even silent auto-playing videos may be blocked by the browser or user preferences or settings, so this method is far from guaranteed.

Mobile dilemma – App Developer Vancouver

However, keep in mind that most browsers have a completely different set of rules regarding their mobile version (if available).

Generally speaking, mobile devices are much stricter, and it is more likely (if not guaranteed) that most auto-playing audio or video will be blocked. This is basically out of consideration for end-users, for example, their mobile data plans may be inadvertently eaten by visiting sites that automatically stream large video files.

In addition, most mobile browsers cannot display the background-style video correctly. For example, even if the user chooses to watch a video by clicking, it will usually be displayed in full-screen mode-which means that any text above will not be readable, and the user needs to exit the video player mode to return to your website.

Pros and cons of video – Shopify SEO Vancouver

With or without audio, video does have many uses, including the following capabilities:

• Tell the story behind your company or product
• Show how the product or service works
• Show customer testimonials or case studies
• Explain how products and services look like in the real world
• As an eye-catching design element

However, there are several factors to keep in mind:

• As discussed in this article, video behaves differently in different situations: this means you can’t always rely on it to work the way you want.
• Video affects site speed and bandwidth usage: most video formats do not need to be fully downloaded before starting to play, or if the user never clicks to play, but if the user chooses to watch the video, it may require a lot of download time and quickly consume the user’s mobile data To be able to load the entire clip.
• In many cases, customers may not be able to use video, especially video with audio: for example, customers browsing your website in a public place may not have a headset with them, and will skip watching the video (if there is) sound, or, If there is sound and the user’s device is muted, they will not get the full experience.
• The use of video also increases accessibility issues: people with hearing or visual limitations cannot fully appreciate the video clip. There are other options, such as transcripts, subtitles, screen text, and audio descriptions, but these are all factors that need to be carefully considered.
• Automatically playing videos with sound may be a good way to attract users’ attention, but it may also annoy most of your user base, especially if they don’t expect it and there are many better ways to attract users’ attention .
• Using an auto-playing video, even if there is no sound, can sometimes cause the user’s device to get into trouble. There may also be situations where, for example, the video background is intermittent or malfunctioning, which may disappoint shoppers.

Since videos are dynamic images in nature, it may be difficult to find or create video clips that still allow text or other elements (in video files or through your Shopify theme) to be placed on top of them are always clear and legible. Adding a layer of opacity to a video clip may be a good solution to make it easier to read, although it does make your video less prominent.

Making a video can be expensive and time-consuming: in many cases, if the video is not well-lit and professionally filmed and edited, it may look amateur and outdated, especially when it is highly polished that your customers might like I’m used to watching the professional videos of.

Nevertheless, if done well, video can still be a good sales tool:

• Give up trying to make the video play automatically-too ​​many variables, “hypothetical”. In addition, if the autoplay behavior changes in the future, you will be prepared.
• Instead of worrying about attracting attention through auto-playing videos, focus on creating great cover images: cover images are images that are displayed before the video starts, and can be changed to custom content (such as YouTube) based on your video platform and its status. Help article). You can also use text or images near the video to force users to click to play.
• Videos on product pages are a great way to showcase products in another way. The video can be very simple, such as 360-degree rotation of the product, feature close-ups, and a high-level production overview of the product. A good way to add these types of videos is through Shopify themed image gallery. When adding a video to the product gallery in the Out of the Sandbox theme, the thumbnail associated with the video clip can be any image you want.
• Consider uploading the camera’s icon or “play” button so that the browser can see the available video. Another option is to take a screenshot of the key scene in the video and place a “play” button above it.
  Video is also a great way to add personality to your brand—whether through video clips that introduce founders, employees, or customers, or let the audience understand how your product is made behind the scenes, or what characteristics make them stand out.