Adding videos to your site

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Adding videos to your site

Last updated February 09, 2023 20:09

Upload and embed videos on your pages to engage with your visitors.

Use video on your site to express your brand, tell better stories, and keep your visitors engaged. You can embed videos from third-party services in most places on your site. In videos pages, video blocks, and section backgrounds, you can upload your own videos. Use this guide to learn where you can add videos, and find links to specific steps for adding videos to your site. On Squarespace, you can:

Embed videos - Embed videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Animoto, and Wistia. These services are highly respected for their streaming quality, upload ease, and video playback control.
Upload videos - Host your videos on your site. This option is available for video blocks on all sites and videos pages and section backgrounds on version 7.1 sites. Every Squarespace site can have up to 30 minutes of uploaded video. For more storage, subscribe to Member Areas.

Tip: With the Video Studio app, you can create professional quality videos that match the design and branding of your site. You can then embed or upload the videos to your site. Learn more about Video Studio.

Where you can add videos

Where you can add videos depends on your site's version.

Version 7.1
Version 7.0

You can add videos to:

Gallery sections don't currently support videos.

You can add videos to:

Option 1 - Embed videos

Embed videos by uploading your videos to a third-party video host, then using the video URL or embed code to add the video to your site. How you add videos depends on your video host:

For videos hosted on YouTube or Vimeo, use a video URL. To use advanced playback options for these hosts, use embed code.
For videos hosted on Animoto, Wistia, or to use advanced playback options for any video host, use embed code.

Visit YouTube, Vimeo, Animoto, or Wistia’s help documentation for video file requirements when uploading video to their services.

Tip: Link to your YouTube or Vimeo profile page by displaying social icons.

Keep in mind:

Videos pages and background videos (such as section backgrounds or page banners) only support YouTube and Vimeo for embed options.
In addition to public videos, if you have hidden or unlisted videos that are accessible by links or embed codes, you can display them on your site.
Vimeo's fullscreen button stays hidden while you're logged into your Squarespace site. To test the fullscreen version of your video, log out or open your site in a private or incognito window.
Vimeo's player bar displays in the background by default. On Vimeo's paid plans, you can remove the bar by changing the embed code. For help with the embed code, contact Vimeo.

Adding specific types of videos

YouTube and Vimeo support a variety of unique video types and settings. You can add:

360-degree videos to video and embed blocks, but they may cause issues with your site's speed and display.
YouTube shorts by right-clicking on the video, copying the embed code, and adding the code to an embed block.
Live-streaming YouTube and Vimeo videos to your site by adding a URL to a video block or embed code to an embed block. After the livestream ends, the video may not work, depending on your settings. For help with livestream embed code, visit YouTube or Vimeo's help documentation.
YouTube videos set to premiere later, but the videos won't display until after they premiere. For more on premiering videos, visit YouTube's help documentation.

Adding video from other services

Usually, we recommend uploading your video to a supported service. If that isn't possible, or if you need to keep it hosted elsewhere, you still have some options. Any video sharing service that supports the oEmbed standard can be added to these areas using its embed URL or code:

Embed blocks
Gallery blocks
Gallery pages (version 7.0)

If this doesn't work and there's no typo or other problem with the embed URL or code, it's likely the video host doesn't support the oEmbed standard. If you can't upload it to a service that supports oEmbed, try pasting the code into a code block. While custom code like this falls outside the scope of our support, you can get advice from our community in the Squarespace Forum or hire a Squarespace Expert.

Option 2 - Upload videos

To have Squarespace host your videos, upload them from your device directly to your site. Use this option to add videos you own or bought from a third party. Currently, you can upload video files to video blocks on all sites and videos pages and section backgrounds on version 7.1 sites. To upload videos in other areas, embed your video instead. To learn more about using videos on your site, visit Squarespace's Terms of Service.

You can upload up to 30 minutes of video to any site, regardless of billing plan. If you reach the limit, subscribe to Member Areas for more storage, or delete videos to free up storage space.

When uploading video files, ensure they meet these requirements:

Video attribute	Specification
File type	Only .mp4, .m4v, .mov
File size	Videos pages: 5000 MB limit Section backgrounds and video blocks: 500 MB limit
Length	Videos pages: three hour limit Video blocks: 30 minute limit Section backgrounds: 60 second limit
Minimum resolution	360p
Maximum display resolution	1080p
Maximum upload resolution	4K
Aspect ratio	Videos of any aspect ratio will display, but we recommend uploading at 16:9 as most videos display in a player with that aspect ratio.
Video bitrate	360p: 1.5M 1080p: 3M
Audio bitrate	128k
Audio codecs	AAC-HE v1, .mp3
Video codecs	.mpeg-4, AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265, ProRes

Note: When you upload a video file to Squarespace directly, we automatically convert it to an .mp4 file that can display at 1080p or 360p to maximize compatibility with all devices, browsers, and internet connections. There's no way to manually select which resolution displays. These converted files have an audio bitrate of 128k and a video bitrate of 1.5 (360p) or 3M (1080p).

Add videos to pages and posts

Where you can add videos depends on your site's version.

Version 7.1
Version 7.0

This table covers the different ways you can add videos to pages and posts and the requirements for each.

Area	Requirements
Video block	One video per block either uploaded or added via URL Videos play with sound when clicked You can set videos added with a URL to autoplay
Gallery block	Show multiple videos in a grid, slideshow, carousel, or stack Add videos via URL Videos can mix with static images Videos play with sound when clicked You can set them to autoplay You can only add gallery blocks to blog posts, product items, and individual events

This table covers the different ways you can add videos to pages and posts and the requirements for each. Only the video block supports uploading.

Area	Requirements
Video block	One video per block either uploaded or added via URL. Videos play with sound when clicked. You can set videos added with a URL to autoplay.
Gallery block	Show multiple videos in a grid, slideshow, carousel, or stack. Videos can mix with static images. Videos play with sound when clicked. You can set them to autoplay.
Summary block	Pull videos from a gallery page to display in a grid, slideshow, carousel, or stack. When clicked, videos open in a lightbox and play with sound. Filter by category or tag. Ensure every video has a featured image for best results.
Gallery pages	The page style, layout, caption display, and behavior depends on your template. You can move images and videos from one gallery page to another. Videos play with sound. Videos can be set to autoplay.
Index pages	For stacked Indexes, add background videos or video blocks to content sections. For slideshow and grid Indexes, use .gif images to create moving slides or featured images. You can add gallery pages to Indexes in the Brine, Momentum, and Pacific template families. You can add video blocks to the page headers above Indexes in the Avenue and York template families.
Cover pages	Available in some layouts Videos play in a lightbox with sound when clicked.

Reuse uploaded videos

You can reuse any uploaded video in any other part of your site where you can upload video. Use the Asset library to view and manage all uploaded videos. To learn more, visit Managing and reusing images and videos.

Create video libraries

You can create libraries of video content on your site with videos pages. In a videos page, you can upload videos directly or embed videos hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. To learn more, visit Videos pages.

Add background videos

Add background videos to create an engaging visual element for your site’s design. These videos:

Display as background, behind page content
Don’t have sound
Repeat on a continuous loop

To learn more, visit Adding background videos.

Use animated .gifs

Animated .gif images play automatically, loop, and don't include sound. You can use a .gif anywhere on your site where you can add images, including image blocks, banners, and gallery blocks.

Review video metrics

We don't currently include video metrics in Squarespace analytics for embedded or uploaded videos.

If you embed videos, contact your video host for details about video metrics. Your video service, not Squarespace, controls how and when video plays count. Plays of embedded videos might add to your view count, depending where you host your videos:

YouTube - For count views, visit your YouTube analytics, which has a breakdown of where viewers find your videos. Learn more in YouTube's analytics series. For specific questions about count views, visit YouTube's help community.
Vimeo - For count views, visit your video on Vimeo and open the analytics panel. Learn more in Vimeo's documentation.

For help with other services, visit their documentation.

Troubleshooting

Videos take too long to load

If a video takes a while to load, it probably needs that extra time to buffer. Many longer or HD videos require more time to load, especially if you factor in your internet connection.

Clicking "Play" on a video starts the buffering process. If you pause the video and wait for content to load in the background, you should be able to build up the buffer and play the video with fewer issues.

Vimeo videos aren't playing in HD

To display HD Vimeo videos, use the embed code to add the video, rather than the video’s URL. Uploading 1080p HD videos to Vimeo requires their Plus or PRO membership plan. It's not possible to add HD Vimeo videos in some pages and areas.

Buttons and controls aren’t showing on Vimeo videos

Vimeo enables "Tiny Mode" when a video block is less than 300 pixels wide or 170 pixels tall. Tiny Mode hides buttons and other information, such as the title, control bar, and the Watch Later/Share buttons. To prevent this, visitors can view the video block on a larger display.

The fullscreen button isn't appearing or working

When you're logged into your site, the Vimeo and YouTube players don't have a fullscreen option. You can view the fullscreen version by opening the page in a private or incognito window in your browser.

Video titles aren't appearing in video blocks

If your video block has a custom featured image, the video title is hidden. To display the video title in the upper left-hand corner, delete the custom featured image.

Videos are different sizes

If your videos are different sizes, it's likely due to their aspect ratios. To learn more, visit Understanding aspect ratios.

Wistia videos are too small

On project pages (version 7.0 only), Wistia videos display in a smaller frame. To avoid the issue, use a different video hosting platform.

Wistia embed code doesn't work

It's not possible to embed Wistia videos in video blocks or gallery pages (version 7.0 only) using Wistia's default embed code. Instead, we recommend using their Fallback (iframe) Embed code.

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