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How Do I Autoplay a Video on Shopify?

Last updated on December 4, 2022 @ 12:58 pm

Videos can be powerful tools for engaging customers on your Shopify store. Autoplaying videos are especially effective as they provide a quick and interactive way to show off products or services. If you’re wondering how to autoplay a video on Shopify, then you’ve come to the right place.

If you’re looking to add an autoplay video to your Shopify store, there are a few steps you’ll need to take. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to add a video to your home page, and how to make it autoplay. We’ll also show you how to customize the autoplay settings for your store. Let’s get started!

What is Autoplay?

Autoplay is a feature that allows videos to start playing automatically when customers visit your store. This feature helps capture the attention of potential customers, as it ensures that visitors will watch at least a few seconds of the video before deciding whether or not they want to watch more.

How to autoplay a video on Shopify

Now let’s get into the steps required for adding autoplay functionality to your shopify store. The first step is to create or upload your video file in the correct format (most commonly mp4). You can do this by navigating to “Settings” > “Files” in the admin interface and uploading your video there. Once uploaded, note down the file URL so you can reference it later when setting up autoplay.

shopify store settings

Next, go back into “Settings” and select “Checkout” from the menu on the left side of the page. Scroll down until you see an option labeled “Additional Scripts” and click “Add script”; this will bring up a text box where you can paste in some HTML code that will enable autoplay on your video file.

You can autoplay a video on Shopify by using the video tag and adding the autoplay attribute to it. For example:

<pre><video autoplay="autoplay" width="300" height="150">
<source src="myvideo.mp4" type="video/mp4" />
<source src="myvideo.ogg" type="video/ogg"/></video></pre>

You can also autoplay a video by using the iframe tag and adding the allow=”autoplay” attribute to it. For example:

<pre><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M7lc1UVf-VE" width="560" 
height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></pre>

Once pasted in, click “Save” at the bottom of the page and navigate back into “Settings” > “Files,” where you should now see an option labeled “Autoplay Video On Load” next to your uploaded video file (if not, refresh the page). Clicking this box will enable autoplay for that particular video file when customers visit your store!

Now all that remains is embedding your video onto any page or product description where you would like it displayed; simply copy/paste in one line of HTML code with a reference link pointing towards your uploaded video file, and voila!

Your site now has an embedded autoplaying video!

Why does your Shopify store need video autoplay?

Video autoplay is a great way to increase your conversions and customer retention. It’s also one of the best ways to boost sales, engagement, and brand loyalty within your Shopify store.

Here are some reasons why you should consider adding video autoplay:

  • Conversion rate increases – According to a study by Unbounce, adding video content to eCommerce websites increased conversion rates by 9%. This means that if you’re not using video autoplay on your Shopify website yet, it might be time!
  • Customer retention – A study from Moz found that customers who watched videos on their site stayed longer than those who didn’t—upwards of 30 minutes more than non-viewers! That’s huge! If these people were buying something from you today, then maybe there’s something about what they saw in those videos that made them stay longer. Maybe even bought something or signed up for an account with your company? Either way, please consider including this feature in future updates so we can start seeing those numbers go up again.

create ecommerce store using shopify

Autoplay videos are great for customer retention and conversion

As long as your customers can get the information they want from them…

Autoplay videos are great for customer retention and conversion as long as your customers can get the information they want from them. The best way to test this is by making sure you have a clear landing page with a call-to-action that directs visitors back to it after watching your video.

Another tip is to make sure that users are able to interact with the autoplay video in some way (i.e., click-through). If not, then you might want to consider removing it altogether or adding an interstitial before allowing autoplay of any type on Shopify stores.

PRO TIP: If you plan to autoplay a video on Shopify, please be aware that there are some potential risks and issues you should be aware of. First and foremost, please be aware that autoplay can reduce your video quality. Additionally, please be sure to test your video on all potential devices and browsers to ensure that it will work as intended. Finally, please remember that some visitors may find autoplay videos annoying or disruptive, so use this feature sparingly.

Conclusion

Autoplaying videos are an excellent way to increase customer engagement on any Shopify website. By following these simple steps—creating/uploading a suitable video file, enabling autoplay via additional scripts, and embedding said file onto any desired pages—you too can take advantage of this powerful tool for increased customer engagement on Shopify!

Good luck!

Madison Geldart

Madison Geldart

Cloud infrastructure engineer and tech mess solver.