« I love these videos and we need them on our new website. No, you don't need it. " They are so endearing and bring a friendly mood. No, they do not do it. " This is an amazing new feature and it helps with the conversion. " No, this is not the case. Other than that, the conversation bothers me. Video backgrounds are not your friends. Our good friend Karl Gilis fromAG Consult said it perfectly: " Video backgrounds are the new sliders. They are a distraction. And just like sliders are no good and should be banned from your Website, video backgrounds should not be spared .
Why do you need these video backgrounds?
I dare say that video backgrounds were invented by web agencies trying to convince clients of a particular design:
- Hey, that will make you stand out!
- Now this adds a new ambiance on your Website, do not you think ?
- Of course, we can create this video for you for only a few extra dollars.
- Video backgrounds grab the attention of your visiteurs. The time spent on the page increases and it is good for Google.
What !? You do not manage this site for Google, but for your users. The second reason the videos are showing is because we've all said at some point, well, that sounds nice. We should have thought about it before we said it. Our customers have seen this video background and now they want it.
This GIF probably already caught your attention, but the background videos are worse, IMHO. I honestly can't think of any added benefit this background video will have for your visitor.
Why video backgrounds are not good
Think about it:
- Video backgrounds increase the load time of a page.
- They distract from the main message / call to action on a page. Even if that button or whatever is bright orange and your design is monochrome, a video is entertaining!
- Video backgrounds usually use videos that are not hosted by you. And if it does not load, you will be blamed and your design will look like shit.
- “Cover the whole screen with a video and set white text on top as the homepage” is probably a trend. Let's all stop this trend.
- Self-play sucks, and how on earth would it make sense to have a start button for a background video? A call to action for your background? Seriously!
- Video backgrounds may only work on very specific landing pages in very specific niches, and most of the time, you only hinder the conversion.
- The things that work for informational product videos don't apply to video backgrounds. It's a different thing!
- Why do you think successful websites don't use video backgrounds?
Video images suck and should be banned from your website. Even with all of the do's and don'ts of using background videos on your website, I still think things don't outweigh what to do.
And what about mobile data plans and the like?
Yes ! Now that we've established that you don't need this video for some reason, think about how much data you'll have left at the end of this month! You will be able to watch another episode of The Ranch by commuting.
No seriously. On your mobile website, that video background just makes less sense. Mobile UX and video backgrounds are not good practice for "toning" and "optimizing for speed". It's a bad idea.
Not everyone needs a video background
We have to start somewhere to eliminate the evil that is video backgrounds. Healing the world starts at home. You need to convince your client that there is little benefit from video. Show them a dozen websites that either support your claims or fail to convince the visitor to use a video background. And please stop recommending them. On behalf of the entire Internet, thank you.
