As we take more sites through Go Mobile we\u2019ve been removing quite a few video pages. We get asked a lot why we consider videos to be\u00a0supplementary\u00a0content on websites, and why we discourage a page containing only video content.<\/p>\n
In this post I\u2019m going to share five reasons why I think you should limit video content on your site.<\/p>\n
People read differently online – they scan and dedicate less time, and often come to a website to find the answer to a question<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are looking for a bridge for that information gap. They want to get over that bridge as quickly as possible.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Gerry McGovern<\/p>\n Videos are not the quickest bridge to information because, as Amy Schade (Nielsen Norman Group) points out, \u201cthey force users to access the content sequentially<\/em>\u201d. This means that users can\u2019t quickly scan the information<\/strong> to see if it will be relevant to them\u00a0<\/strong> like they could with text.<\/p>\n If we rely solely on video content to convey our primary messages we run the risk of burying them. Users might not watch a video to the end<\/strong>, or worse, they might not watch it at all.\u00a0In our new responsive template videos don\u2019t play automatically, giving the user control over what they view.<\/p>\n As Amy Shade argues, users should \u201chave the ability to collect information in another way<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n If using videos on your site you should always ensure that your primary message is also presented in text<\/strong> so that users can access it quickly.<\/p>\n When using video content you need to be mindful of accessibility.<\/p>\n \u201cProviding content as a video can limit access to the information contained in this format for anyone who cannot see or hear the content.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Amy Schade,\u00a0Nielsen Norman Group<\/p>\n Is video the most appropriate medium to convey information to your target audience? For example, if one of your target audiences is from a country where Youtube is not available, relying on videos to provide information means that your audience can\u2019t access it.<\/p>\n Videos can also break or be removed from the channel they’re hosted on.<\/p>\n As well as videos being time consuming they can also interrupt the flow of your core content<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cVideo and the accompanying audio, can confuse or distract users<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n Amy Schade,\u00a0Nielsen Norman Group<\/p>\n On mobile devices videos can take longer to scroll through<\/strong> as they stack to fill the smaller screen.<\/p>\n Since videos are potentially distracting users from your core messages, it\u2019s important to think carefully about when and where to use them<\/strong> on your webpages.<\/p>\n Videos, like images and virtual tours, can slow the load time for your webpage.<\/strong>\u00a0If users can’t access your information quickly they can become frustrated\u00a0and leave your site.<\/p>\n As well as coming to the web to find something out, users often come to a website to complete a task. There is a danger with videos just to tell a story rather than provide information with a call to action.<\/p>\n \u201cMany videos are essentially dead ends that leave the user with no clear path to additional information.\u201d<\/p>\n Amy Schade,\u00a0Nielsen Norman Group<\/p>\n This supports my argument that videos are usually supplementary content on websites.<\/strong> They should sit alongside your core content<\/strong> to provide context or qualifying information rather than being relied on to provide essential next steps in the user journey.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not trying to say videos are not useful content. Do I believe they are more suitable in other mediums, such as social media? Absolutely. Like Gerry McGovern, I believe that a website is still \u201cprimarily a text-driven medium<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n However, I can also see the benefits of videos on a website. Like other dynamic content, videos can be engaging and can help break up blocks of text. They also provide context and qualifiers<\/strong> to support your core messages<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s essential though that we use this content type sparingly<\/strong> on websites to maximise impact, and to ensure that we\u2019re not excluding, distracting or annoying our users.<\/p>\n Remember, there isn\u2019t much time to grab the user\u2019s attention on the web, it\u2019s best to present your primary messages as quickly and as clearly as possible.<\/p>\n Amy Schade, Video Usability<\/a>,\u00a0Nielsen Norman Group (NNg), 16 November 2014<\/p>\n Gerry McGovern,\u00a0Text is more important than images on the Web<\/a>, New Thinking, 26 September 2010<\/p>\n Gerry McGovern,\u00a0The Challenge for Writers of Web Content<\/a>,\u00a0New Thinking, 24 May 2015<\/p>\n As we take more sites through Go Mobile we\u2019ve been removing quite a few video pages. We get asked a lot why we consider videos to be\u00a0supplementary\u00a0content on websites, and why we discourage a page containing only video content. In … Continue reading 2. Videos are not always accessible<\/h2>\n
3. Videos can distract from your core content<\/h2>\n
4. Videos can slow the page load<\/h2>\n
5. Videos often don\u2019t provide a next step<\/h2>\n
Final thoughts<\/h2>\n
References and further reading<\/h2>\n
Related posts<\/h2>\n
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