How to Add Autoplay Preview to Video: A Simple Guide

October 2, 2024
Ben Russell
Founder

Attention spans are shrinking, and competition for views is fierce. That’s why grabbing your audience’s attention quickly is crucial—and one of the best ways to do that? Autoplay video previews. These snippets offer a glimpse of your content without visitors needing to press play, making them a powerful tool for engagement. As soon as someone lands on your site, an autoplay preview grabs their attention with a dynamic, hands-free experience. Whether you're showcasing a product, telling a brand story, or boosting content views, autoplay previews can significantly improve interaction.

With platforms like Instagram and TikTok making autoplay the norm, audiences now expect dynamic, interactive content. Integrating autoplay previews into your website can help boost user interaction and time spent on pages.

The best part? Adding autoplay previews to your site doesn’t have to be complicated. In this guide, we’ll show you two ways to do it: through traditional coding methods or with Clipara, a tool that makes it incredibly easy—no coding required. Let’s explore how you can keep visitors hooked from the moment they land on your page.

Why Autoplay Previews Boost Engagement

The key reason autoplay video previews are effective is that they instantly grab attention. When a visitor lands on your page, the sudden movement and visual stimuli from an autoplaying video can draw them in before they even make a conscious decision to engage with your content.

Here are a few reasons why this feature works so well:

  • Effortless engagement: Users don’t need to click “play” to start the video, making it easier for them to absorb your message without effort.
  • Higher video views: Since the video begins playing automatically, more people are likely to watch at least a few seconds, which can increase your video’s view count and impact.
  • Increased Time on Site: Engaging video previews can encourage users to stay longer on your site, which can also improve SEO performance.

How to Add Autoplay Previews to Videos

If you’re comfortable with some basic coding, there are a few simple ways to add autoplay previews to your videos. Below, we’ll cover two methods using HTML5 and JavaScript.

1. HTML5 Autoplay

One of the ways to get an autoplay preview running is by using HTML5. Here’s a code snippet that allows you to embed a video with autoplay:

html
Copy code
<video autoplay muted loop>
  <source src="your-video-file.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

  • autoplay: This attribute ensures that the video starts playing automatically.
  • muted: Since many users might find sound intrusive, it’s best to keep autoplay videos muted by default.
  • loop: This ensures that the video plays continuously, which is useful for shorter clips that loop seamlessly.

Pros:

  • Requires minimal code.
  • Generally works well across modern browsers, offering a smooth viewing experience.

Cons:

  • Customisation options are limited, making it harder to tailor the video to your branding.
  • Adjusting autoplay settings may require extra coding knowledge.
  • Limited control over when the video plays. For instance, it will autoplay as soon as the page loads, which may not always be ideal.

How Clipara Can Help:

With Clipara, you can customise your autoplay video previews effortlessly, giving your content the unique look it deserves. The platform takes care of autoplay settings automatically, so you won’t have to dive into coding or worry about technical details.

2. JavaScript: Autoplay on Hover or Scroll

If you want more control over when your videos start playing, you can use JavaScript to trigger autoplay based on user interaction, like hovering over the video or scrolling into view. Here’s an example for autoplay on hover:

javascript
Copy code
document.getElementById('myVideo').addEventListener('mouseover', function() {
    this.play();
});
document.getElementById('myVideo').addEventListener('mouseout', function() {
    this.pause();
});

This script tells the video to play when the user hovers over it and pause when the mouse moves away. You can also use libraries like Intersection Observer for scroll-based triggers, making the video play when it appears in the viewport.

Pros:

  • Offers greater control over video playback.
  • Enables advanced features that can make the viewing experience more engaging.

Cons:

  • Requires a good understanding of coding and can become complex when dealing with multiple videos, which can be daunting for some users.
  • Bugs in the script can lead to playback issues, affecting user experience.

How Clipara Can Help:

With Clipara, you can access advanced features without needing to code. It simplifies the process, allowing you to create engaging autoplay previews while minimising the risk of errors and ensuring optimal performance.

Clipara: The Easy Way to Add Autoplay Previews

If you’re not keen on coding or want a simpler, more user-friendly solution, Clipara offers an easy way to add autoplay previews to your videos with a single embed. With Clipara, you can create slick, on-brand video experiences that are optimised for engagement and performance, all without touching a line of code.

Here’s why Clipara makes autoplay previews easy:

  • Simple setup: Did we mention—No coding required! Clipara allows you to create video embeds with autoplay functionality effortlessly. Just upload your video, customise your settings, and grab the embed code.
  • Seamless integration: You can embed autoplay video carousels, grids, or full-screen previews anywhere on your site with no technical hassle.
  • Performance-optimised: Clipara ensures that your videos won’t slow down your site, even with autoplay features enabled.
  • Customisable experience: You can match your video layouts and styles to your brand, ensuring the autoplay previews look professional and cohesive with the rest of your website.

For businesses looking for a fast, easy, and reliable solution, Clipara is an ideal alternative to manual coding. You can focus on creating engaging content while Clipara handles the technical side of things, from autoplay settings to smooth user experience.

Create seamless video experiences without code with Clipara.

Start using Clipara for free and create video experiences that delight your customers.

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How to Add Autoplay Preview to Video with Clipara: Step-by-Step Guide

Now that you know how useful autoplay previews are, let’s walk through how you can add them using Clipara.

Step 1: Sign Up or Log In to Clipara

Head over to Clipara and sign up for a free account, or log in if you already have one. Clipara offers a free plan that allows you to explore its features, including autoplay video previews.

Step 2: Upload Your Video Content

You can upload videos now or come back later. Clipara lets you pull content from platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, making it easy to add existing videos or create something new.

  1. Upload your videos: Drag and drop them from your computer.
  2. Link videos from social media: Paste the link to your videos on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, and Clipara will handle the rest.

Step 3: Set Up Your Campaign

In your Clipara dashboard, click Create a campaign.

Choose On-site as your campaign type.

Next, select the campaign type. for this example, let’s select In-line as the player style.

Now it’s time to choose the videos for your carousel. If you need to upload videos, you can do so now. Clipara allows flexibility in choosing videos from your existing library or uploading new ones.

Select your desired videos and arrange them in the order you prefer. You can pull in videos directly from Instagram or TikTok to highlight user-generated content or trending videos.

Clipara’s drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to rearrange the order of your videos so that they play in the exact sequence you want.

Once you’re happy with the order, click Create Campaign in the top left.

Next, select to create a new widget. Widgets are layouts that can be reused across multiple campaigns once you have designed them.

Choose Carousel as your layout style. This is the only option available for In-line campaigns. If you’re creating campaigns that open to full screen, you can also select from additional layouts, including grids, stories, pop-ups, and even create your own custom embeds.

Step 4: Customise

Now it’s time to make your video carousel match your brand. Clipara provides customization options that let you adjust the appearance of your carousel easily.

  1. Decide how many videos to show at once (e.g., 3 or 4).
  2. Choose autoplay settings—whether you want videos to scroll automatically or allow users to scroll manually.
  3. Customize colors, fonts, and sizes to maintain brand consistency.

Step 5: Generate and Copy the Embed Code

Once you're satisfied with the video settings and layout, it's time to embed the video on your website:

  1. Click on the Install button at the top right of your Clipara dashboard.
  2. Copy the embed code Clipara provides.

This code will include all the autoplay settings you’ve configured, so you don’t need to worry about adding any extra HTML or JavaScript.

Step 6: Add the Embed Code to Your Website

Now that you have the embed code:

  1. Go to your website’s content management system (CMS) or HTML editor.
  2. Paste the embed code in the section of the page where you want the video to appear.

This can be your homepage, product pages, or anywhere else you want to showcase your video with autoplay preview enabled.

And that’s it!

Step 7: Preview and Test

After embedding the code, always preview your site to ensure everything works smoothly. Check the following:

  • Does the video start playing automatically?
  • Is the video muted (if applicable)?
  • Does the layout match your brand’s style?

Once everything looks good, publish the changes on your website!

Bonus: Monitor and Optimise

With Clipara’s built-in analytics, you can monitor how your autoplay previews are performing. Track metrics like engagement and view count to understand how effective the feature is in capturing your audience’s attention.

Conclusion

Autoplay video previews are a fantastic way to catch attention and keep visitors engaged on your website. Whether you decide to use HTML5, JavaScript, or an easy tool like Clipara, adding autoplay to your videos can help keep people on your site longer and encourage them to interact with your content.

If you're looking for a straightforward, modern solution, Clipara makes it incredibly easy. You won’t have to deal with complicated coding; it provides a user-friendly way to create autoplay video previews that look great and won't slow down your site. With Clipara, your videos will stand out and keep viewers watching.

Ready to enhance your website without the technical headaches? Get started with Clipara here.

Engage and delight customers with epic video experiences

Start using Clipara for free and bring your site to life without slowing it down.

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