Sell access or request visitors sign up to view your videos.

Add a paywall to your videos page to limit access to your library of work. Visitors can purchase access to watch your videos or view them for free after providing their email address.

If you're offering a video workshop or series of videos about a project, try using a course page. You can paywall course pages, and your students can track their progress as they complete the course.

This guide covers the steps to build a video collection, add a paywall, and show a preview of your video.

Videos pages are only available on version 7.1. To sell access to videos on version 7.0, add videos to a gallery page or to video blocks on a layout page, then place the page in a member site.

Step 1 - Build a videos page

After creating a site on version 7.1, add your videos to a videos page. Your videos page displays featured images of each video on the overview page and the individual videos on the video details pages. You can upload videos directly to your site or embed externally hosted videos. To learn more about adding your videos, visit Videos pages.

If you create content for multiple topics, consider creating one page per topic. For example, if you’re archiving videos from your band's performances, add one video page per tour.

Tip: If your site is live, you can disable the page until you're ready for it to be visible to customers.

Step 2 - Add a pricing plan

Pricing plans require your visitors to sign up to view your videos. You can charge for access or ask that visitors provide their email address. To add your videos page to a pricing plan:

1. Open the Pages panel.
2. Click the videos page you want to add to a pricing plan.
3. In the Selling tools section, click Add a pricing plan, then click Create pricing plan.
4. In the Details section, review the Name and Description of your videos page.
5. Enter up to five Benefits included that outline what visitors get by signing up. Benefits must be 60 characters or fewer.
6. In the Pricing section, select a pricing structure.
7. If you’re charging for access to your digital product, enter the Price. Select the number of payments for fixed-amount plans or the frequency of payments for subscription plans.
8. (Optional) In the Sign up limits section, you can select a Start date and End date during which your visitors can sign up. If you add enrollment dates, we recommend listing them in the Description field to ensure your visitors understand the sign-up timeline.
9. (Optional) In the Included products section, click Add digital product to add up to 10 other videos pages, blog pages, member sites, or course pages to your pricing plan.
10. Click Create. In your Pages panel, your videos page displays a Paywall label after you add a pricing plan. Free pricing plans also show the paywalled label as they require a customer account to access.

Pricing plan structures

You have a choice of three pricing plan structures:

• Free - Visitors sign up by providing their email address and creating a customer account. Free plans are a great way to grow your mailing list.
• Fixed amount - Visitors pay a single sum once or in installments to gain permanent access to your videos. Fixed amount plans work well if you want a one and done purchase for your customers.
• Subscription - Visitors pay recurring payments to maintain access to your videos. Subscription plans create weekly, monthly, or annual passive income. They also offer your visitors the option to pay for temporary access.

To learn more about pricing plans, visit Pricing plans and paywalls.

Step 3 - Edit your paywall

After you add a videos page to a pricing plan, you choose where the paywall appears for your visitors. When a visitor encounters a paywall, they must sign up for a pricing plan or log into their account to access your videos.

You can place the paywall in three locations:

• Videos page - When visitors click a link to your videos page, they’re asked to sign up on the paywall. Use this option to keep your videos and their featured images hidden.
• Video details page - Visitors can view the overview page, but when they click an individual video, they find the paywall. Use this option to show featured images of the videos your visitors can sign up to view.
• Video player - Visitors can view the video overview page and the video details page but can’t play the video. Instead, a paywall appears for them to sign up. Use this option to display the featured images and more information on your video details page.

To choose where the paywall appears:

1. Open the Pages panel.
2. Click the videos page, then in the Selling tools section click Paywall.
3. In the Paywall placement section, select Videos page, Video details page, or Video player.
4. Click Save.

Customize your paywall

The paywall invites visitors to sign up for your pricing plan. You can customize your paywall by editing the headline, description, and which pricing plans display.

To customize the details on a digital product’s paywall:

1. Open the Pages panel.
2. Click the videos page, and in the Selling tools section, click Paywall.
3. Customize the Headline and Description message.
4. Click the eye icon to Hide or Show the pricing plans that include this videos page.
5. Click the pencil icon to edit the pricing plan.
6. Click Save.

To style your paywall, visit Pricing plans and paywalls.

Step 4 - Offer a video preview

Encourage visitors to sign up with a video preview. Visitors can watch one or more of your videos with a preview. To show a specific video as a preview:

1. Follow the instructions above to set your paywall to appear on the video player or video details page.
2. Open the Pages panel.
3. Click a videos page, then click All videos.
4. Hover over the video in the side panel, click ..., then click Set as public preview.
5. If you decide to no longer offer the video as a preview, click Remove as public preview.

Videos set to public preview show a "preview" badge on the overview page. Visitors can view the details page and play the entire video.

Step 5 - Add a payment processor

To charge for access to your videos, you need to connect your site to a payment processor. Choose to connect Squarespace payments, Stripe, or PayPal. To learn more about collecting payments, visit Connecting a payment processor.

Step 6 - Publish your videos

When you’re ready to show the world your videos, publish your site (if needed) and ensure the page is enabled. You may want to include it in your site navigation.

Next steps

As your visitors sign up to view your videos, review these topics to keep your site running smoothly:

• Increase your video storage - Your site’s billing plan determines how many minutes of video you can store. If you need to store more videos than what your current billing plan allows, consider upgrading your website billing plan. If you live outside the US or purchased a Digital Products plan, you can increase your video storage by upgrading your Digital Products plan.
• Promote your site - Use your site’s built-in features to market your videos and grow your audience.
• Review transaction fees and payment processing fees - When a visitor purchases a pricing plan, you pay a transaction fee to Squarespace. Similarly, your payment processor charges a fee on each transaction. To learn more, visit Transaction fees and payment processing fees.