Does Embedding Videos Affect Website Speed?

July 3, 2024 Seth Hoffman

If you're running a B2B website, keeping it fast and responsive is key to standing out online. Slow websites can frustrate visitors and hurt your Google rankings because page speed is a big deal for SEO. One thing that can really impact load times is videos, so let's dive into how they affect your Squarespace site and what you can do about it.

Does Adding a Video to Your Squarespace Website Slow It Down?

The short answer is yes. Anytime you add something to your site, it can slow it down a bit. But all videos are not created equal. There are ways to manage this. First, let's understand how videos impact your site's speed.

Factors That Affect Website Load Speed with Videos

Videos Above the Fold: Videos in the hero section (the first section of your page) load right away, which can slow things down. If you can place videos further down the page and lazy load them (meaning they load only when the user scrolls to them), it will help your page load faster initially.
Video Length: A shorter video will have a smaller file size than a longer one of the same resolution. If you host these videos yourself, longer videos mean longer load times.
Resolution: Higher resolution videos, like 4K, are much larger than 1080p videos. For example, a 30-second 4K video can be about 67 MB, while a 1080p video might be around 16 MB. Remember, this is in addition to the rest of your page's content.
Audio: Audio also adds to the file size, but not by much. For decorative videos, consider if you really need audio—this can help reduce the file size.
Autoplaying Videos: Similar to the videos above the fold note, some videos (like background video) needs to load as the page loads for the best experience. When you embed a video that doesn’t play until the user selects it, that will help your page load faster initially.

Using Video Embeds to Boost Performance

One of the best ways to keep your site fast while still using videos is to embed them from a third-party service like YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia. This means the video files don’t sit on your server, solving any bandwidth or storage issues. Plus, it makes your page load faster because the video’s length and resolution don’t impact your site's speed as much.

Concerns About Using Video Embeds

There is a lot of upside to embedding videos, but it’s not without its quirks:

Background Videos: These can be tricky, especially on mobile devices. They might not look or behave as you expect. It's often better to set videos to open in a lightbox or popup window.
Lazy Loading: Ideally, embedded videos should be lazy-loaded to improve load times, but this can't happen if they are placed above the fold. This can cause layout shifts (CLS issues) that might hurt your Google Page Speed score.

Native Video Embedding on Squarespace

Squarespace now supports native video embedding, which is super handy. It integrates seamlessly, giving you more control over how videos are displayed on your site. However, remember that hosting videos directly on Squarespace can still affect your page speed if not managed carefully, as it uses your site's storage and bandwidth.

Conclusion: Keeping Your Site Speed Up with Videos

Understanding how videos impact your site's speed helps you make smart choices. Using third-party video hosting services or Squarespace's native embedding can help you balance between having engaging video content and maintaining a fast, responsive website. With these tips, you can keep your site running smoothly and your visitors happy.

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