A website header video is a powerful tool for grabbing visitors’ attention and conveying your brand’s message. Having a high-quality header video can benefit your website’s SEO in several ways. A well-made header video can improve the overall user experience on your website, leading to:
- longer visit durations (an average of 2.6x longer, according to a study by Wistia)
- lower bounce rates
- higher engagement metrics
However, creating an effective header video requires more than just placing a video at the top of your website. Here, we’ll explore some best practices for creating an engaging and effective website header video.
Header videos should be short and sweet
The first and most important rule of website header videos is to keep it short. Whether your page is about lawn care or online courses, your header video should be no longer than 15 seconds. Ideally, it should be even shorter than that. Visitors to your site need to be able to immediately identify what they are looking for and why they should stay. Longer header videos quickly loose retention and muddle your message. Instead, focus on creating a brief, impactful video that quickly communicates your brand message.
Choose the right content
The content of your website header video should be carefully chosen to reflect your brand and message. Avoid using generic stock footage or irrelevant content, as this can make your site appear unprofessional. Instead, use high-quality footage or animations that are specifically tailored to your brand and message.
Optimize for speed
Website header videos can be heavy files, and if they’re not optimized, they can slow down your site. This can have an adverse effect and negatively impact your SEO. To prevent this, make sure your video is compressed and optimized for web use. Additionally, consider using a video hosting platform like YouTube or Vimeo to host your video, as this will reduce the load on your website server.
Use sound sparingly
While sound can add an extra element of interest to your website header video, it can also be a distraction. Especially if your business is B2B, your users will likely visit your site from their offices where any sound playing will cause the user to dive for the mute button. Consider using sound sparingly or not at all, and make sure that any sound that is used is high-quality and relevant to your brand and message.
Make sure header videos are mobile-friendly
In today’s mobile-first world, it’s essential that your website header video is optimized for mobile devices. Make sure that your video is responsive and can be viewed on all screen sizes without distortion or loss of quality. Another option is to create a slide show version of the header video for your mobile site, as you can see on our homepage at Radbot Video Production.
In conclusion, website header videos can be a powerful tool for engaging visitors and communicating your brand message. However, it’s important to follow best practices to ensure that your video is effective and doesn’t detract from the user experience. By keeping your video short, choosing the right content, optimizing for speed, using sound sparingly, making it mobile-friendly, and testing and iterating, you can create a website header video that engages visitors and drives conversions.