Websites with a video background are becoming more popular. Websites immediately get the attention from visitors with beautiful, atmospheric and moving images.
And video is hot.
Research shows that in 2015, a whole 78 percent of people watch videos online every week, 55 percent even watches videos every day. And you can see this popularity in video backgrounds.
There are two ways to place a video into your background:
- There are special websites which offer video backgrounds. free, but you often need to register with your email and name.
- You can search on Youtube for ‘video background’ or ‘stock footage’. You then don’t need to download the video, but you can simply paste the code of the video (this is called embedding).
To place video backgrounds, your websites needs to be suitable for this.
Certain themes support video backgrounds, others don’t.
Copyright video background
It’s not always easy to find video backgrounds, because it often has a copyright and you can’t always place this video background on your website. If someone has publicly placed it on Youtube then it’s often not a problem to embed the video.
There are different kinds of copyright. Sometimes you can use it for commercial websites, and another video background provider doesn’t allow it.
There are also stock agencies which offer a limited (for example a week) free try out subscription where you can download videos for free.
Let’s take a look at how you can get free video backgrounds. My top 10 with a nice bonus tip!
1. YouTube
Go to Youtube and type ‘video background’. You will get a long list with videos you can embed.
You then don’t need to upload the video to your own website. These are often large files and WordPress discourages uploading large files. It’s not even possible to upload files larger than 8 MB through the cms. It can be done, but then you need to upload it through ftp to your media library.
A disadvantage is that the quality of the content on Youtube is not always that great.
That’s why I want to show you a few more sources where you can dispose of beautiful images.
2. Videvo
A very professional website is Videvo, which offers free stock videos. Large choice, very professional looking images. You do need to register, but this can be done fast and easy through your social media account like Twitter or Facebook. You also have to accept the ‘terms and conditions’, so make sure to check these conditions.
3. Videezy
Comparable is Videezy, a source with hundreds if not thousands of moving images. Varying from video to the Zurich airport to abstract image of a lightbulb. Registration is mandatory and the videos are often not that long, so you don’t need to download huge files.
4. Pexels
Pexels is also a collection site which gives an overview of all kinds of sources to download or embed videos. A lot of choice, beautiful moving images and a clear classification. Also a lot of choice in commercial use which can be used for free.
They also have a newsletter where the offer you the newest and latest videos.
One of my favourites!
5. Coverr
Coverr has a large selection and new videos are added weekly. No registration and fast download.
6. Videoblocks
Videostocks has a huge collection of moving images. You can have a paid subscription which gives you access to thousands of videos. But you can first try it out for free!
You can download a number of videos every day for seven days. If you are not satisfied, then you can terminate your subscription without any cost. And you are allowed to keep using the videos you have already downloaded. But check the terms and conditions beforehand!
7. Flickr
Flickr also offers videos aside from thousands of photos for you and I to upload. A good source for video backgrounds!
8. Vimeo – Free HD stock footage
There are also special groups which collect video backgrounds. On Vimeo there is the group ‘Free HD stock footage’ which has beautiful backgrounds.
9. Open images (bonus tip!)
Yes, a real Dutch stock video image archive! I really don’t want to keep this from you, because these images are also free to use, download or embed.
‘Open images is an open media platform which offers access to audio visual collections which can easily be re-used’, is what is says on the website. With a lot of historic images from Holland, but also a lot of videos about Dutch nature. From cows in the meadows to breeding oyster catchers. Fun!
Conclusion
There is no lack of choice. Video backgrounds can be a great addition for your website, but you should use them in the right manner. Sometimes the headers or text can be unreadable because the background is moving and this interferes with the message you are trying to get across.
Video backgrounds are different from regular videos, in the way they are less ‘busy’ and mostly give an atmospheric image.
Something to pay attention to: on your smartphone or tablet the video backgrounds are often not visible. You will then see a black background or it’s not possible to play the video.
If you know more sources that are not listed above, then we would love to hear about them!
