What is the background video section?
The background video section displays prominent text with a video playing in the background. It plays without audio on an automatic loop and enables sharing promotional messages, whilst adding energy and movement to the page.
A background video can enhance the user experience by demonstrating products or services in action. Compared to static images, videos are typically more engaging which can encourage visitors to spend more time on your store and may lead to higher conversion rates.
How to create a background video section
Steps
- Open the Theme Editor and click Add section to add a Background video section.
- There are two different video sources:
Video upload: Select a video file (e.g. an MP4) hosted on your Shopify store.
External video: This is a video from an external link and supports YouTube or Vimeo videos. - Add a Custom placeholder image that will display in the place of the video if it cannot autoplay.
- A Heading, Text and Button can be shown as an overlay on top of the video. In the Layout settings, choose to Show overlay tint to improve legibility.
- Use the Layout settings to set the background video height and width.
FAQs
Why is my video not playing on mobile?
Whether a background video plays on mobile is controlled by the device/browser rather than the theme. Background videos can slow down page loading, use a lot of mobile data, and consume the device's battery.
Your device/browser may decide not to play the video if:
- Your phone is low on battery or is in 'Battery saver mode'.
- Your data signal is weak.
- The video has sound.
- The video is too large.
- The current page contains multiple videos or is slow to load.
- The video has been encoded in the incorrect format (see the next FAQ for more).
- Or any combination of the above.
The most reliable (although not guaranteed) way to get a background video to autoplay is to upload the video file in an MP4 format to Shopify in the Content > Files area of the Shopify admin.
Why does my video have no sound?
Background videos do not play sound. They are auto-playing videos that are designed to sit in the background to add a visual design. The Video section can be used for videos with sound.
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