How to Embed Videos on a Website [2024 Guide]

Video content is a crucial part of modern digital marketing. Embedding videos on websites enhances user engagement by putting rich content on the page. To do that, you first need a place to upload and host your video. After that, you’ll need to wrap that video in some fancy HTML to place the video on your website. Luckily for you, we’ve built a free video embed code generator tool that does all of that for you.   

You can jump right into that free tool or keep reading to learn more about video embedding. This guide covers everything from the basics to advanced techniques. We'll explore the ins and outs of video embedding and show you how to master it. 

Understanding Video Embedding

What is Video Embedding?

Video embedding means integrating videos directly into web pages. It’s a way for people to watch videos on your website without having to navigate to another site like YouTube. 

HTML and iFrames: The Backbone of Video Embedding

Behind every embedded video lies HTML code, often using an iFrame. This 'inline frame' is an important part of the way the internet works, allowing one HTML document (your video) to be inserted into the parent document (your webpage). It's this seamless integration that makes video embedding so user-friendly and widely adopted.

The Benefits of Embedding Videos

Embedding videos can enhance your website in the following ways:

• Improved User Engagement: Videos capture attention more effectively than text or images.
• Increased Time on Site: Engaging content keeps visitors around longer.
• SEO Advantages: Search engines like Google favor diverse types of content, which includes video.  

What is a Video Embed Code Generator?

A video embed code generator is a tool that creates the necessary HTML code to embed videos. It replaces the need for manual coding, which can be time-consuming and complex. Contrast’s free video embed code generator, for example, is easy to use and customizable. It provides a simpler, more accessible solution than manual coding.

Video Embed Code Generator vs. Manual Coding

While manual coding can offer more control, it requires technical know-how that most of us don’t have. This is where video embed code generators come in. They provide an intuitive, no-code solution, making video embedding accessible to all.

Contrast’s Free Video Embed Code Generator

The internet is full of free video embed code generators, but most of them are missing some key features compared to ours: 

Free Video Hosting

Most free video embed code generators don’t host your video for you like Contrast’s does. They require you to first upload and host the video somewhere else online, and then they’ll just wrap the video embed code HTML around that URL. 

With Contrast’s video embed code generator, you can upload the video and we’ll host it for you for free. No strings attached. We don’t sell, share, or remove your video or information. It’s safe. 

Customizable Video Player

Since other free video embed code generators don’t host your video, they also don’t have any control over the video player - the actual video screen that users see on your website. Therefore they can’t change its appearance or customize it in any way. 

When you upload your video to our video embed code generator, we host the video for you and make it available in our modern branded video player. You can completely customize the player with our video embed code generator. 

Color: Add your brand color to customize the play button 

Title and Description: Add the video title and description to optimize your embedded video for search engines like Google

Thumbnail: Upload your own thumbnail image or use our automatically generated one

Chapters: Add chapters with custom timecodes to create a better viewing experience for your audience.  

Performance and Compatibility 

Contrast's video embed code generator makes sure your videos load quickly and run smoothly on all major browsers and devices. Our player is optimized for mobile, guaranteeing that your content is accessible and responsive regardless of the viewer's device. 

Video management

With Contrast's free tool you can also create an account to manage all of your hosted videos in one place. No need to store them in a Google Drive, Notion, or other tool. Find all of your video content in one place while making it easy to embed.

Support and Updates

We understand the importance of reliable support and continual improvement. Our customer support team is available 24/7 to assist with any questions or issues. Our product team is also constantly refining our primary product, our webinar software, which includes enhancements to our video player. With these ongoing updates, you’ll always be using the most advanced, user-friendly tools available.

Free Video Analytics 

If you want to know more about how people many have watched your video and which moments were the most watched, you can take advantage of our free video analytics. To do so, just create a free Contrast account and upload your video there instead. You’ll still be able to embed it anywhere else online, but now you’ll also get access to our detailed video analytics. 

Repurpose Your Embedded Videos 

Another advantage of creating a free Contrast account is that you can transform your videos using our Repurpose AI feature. It turns your videos into short clips or completely different types of content like blog posts, social media posts, newsletters, and more. Check out our guide to repurposing webinar content for inspiration on what you can do with a single video. 

How to Use Contrast’s Video Embed Code Generator

Using our video embed code generator is easy.

1. Upload the video you want to embed
2. Customize the player as needed by adding your primary brand color, title, description, thumbnail, and chapters. 
3. Copy the video embed code and use it wherever you’d like

How to Use Your Video Embed Code On Different Platforms

Once you have your video embed code, you need to copy and paste it into the page you want it to appear. Here are some basic instructions for doing that on some popular content management systems. 

Depending on the specific theme or setup you are using, the steps below might be slightly different. Don’t see your platform listed? Just search “embed html on [your platform]” to find a tutorial. 

WordPress

In WordPress, navigate to the post or page editor. Select the 'HTML' or 'Text' editor, rather than the 'Visual' editor, and paste your embed code where you want the video to appear.

Shopify

On Shopify, access the area where you want to embed the video. Use their rich text editor and insert your embed code.

HubSpot CMS Hub

In HubSpot’s CMS Hub, within the content editor, locate the page and module where you want to add the video. Click ‘Insert”, choose the 'Embed option, and paste your video embed code.

Wix

In Wix, go to the page editor where you want your video. Click 'Add' and then 'More'. Select 'HTML iframe' from the list. Paste your video embed code in the HTML code field.

Squarespace

On Squarespace, in the block editor, click ‘Code Snippet’, then click ‘Embed data’. Paste your embed code into the Embed Data field.

Should You Use YouTube as a Video Embed Code Generator?

Many people opt for YouTube when embedding videos and webinars, simply because it’s the default platform that comes to mind when you think of video. However, this choice has a few drawbacks:

Branding Challenges: Embedding YouTube videos means their distinctive branding is always visible. This can clash with the style of your website, making the integration look less professional. Every YouTube video embed also has a clickable logo which takes the user to your video’s page on YouTube. This takes them away from your website and down a potential rabbit hole of other content. 

Distracting Video Suggestions: Post-playback, YouTube suggests unrelated videos. This could divert your audience's attention away from your content, impacting engagement with your brand. 

Intrusive Advertisements: YouTube might display ads before or during your video. These ads can disrupt the viewer's experience, potentially leaving a negative impression.

Other Free Video Embed Code Generators

If you’re still convinced you need a different video embed generator  - I promise, you don’t 😉 - then here’s a short list of other options. Keep in mind that most of them won't host your video, optimize it for SEO, or let you customize the player like Contrast does. 

Web Code Tools

Pros:

✅ Free

✅ Some custom options

Cons:

❌ Won’t host your video

❌ Manual size control rather than responsive

❌ No branding

❌ No thumbnail

❌ No SEO

❌ No chapters

❌ Ads

Toolki

Pros:

✅ Free

✅ Responsive

Cons:

❌ Won’t host your video

❌ No branding

❌ No thumbnail

❌ No SEO

❌ No chapters

Jumpshare

Pros:

✅ Free

✅ Responsive

✅ Video hosting

Cons:

❌Paid upgrade to remove Jumpshare branding

❌ Paid upgrade to add thumbnail

❌ Paid upgrade to add chapters

❌ Paid upgrade to edit title

❌ No SEO

Customizing Video Embed Codes

If needed, you can customize the HTML created by a video embed code generator. Here are some simple tweaks to the embed code you could make.

Autoplay Your Embedded Video

To make your video embed autoplay when someone lands on the page, add ?autoplay=1 to the end of the URL in the src attribute.

Example:
src="https://embed.getcontrast.io/watch?u=3614e2e1-5f89-4f85-81d8-3454cca87bb6?autoplay=1"

Loop Your Embedded Video

To make your embedded video automatically loop, add &loop=1 to the URL in the src attribute. This should be added after the autoplay parameter if both are used.

Example:
src="https://embed.getcontrast.io/watch?u=3614e2e1-5f89-4f85-81d8-3454cca87bb6?autoplay=1&loop=1"

Mute Your Embedded Video

To automatically mute your embedded video by default, add &mute=1 to the URL in the src attribute. It can be combined with autoplay and loop if needed.

Example: 
src="https://embed.getcontrast.io/watch?u=3614e2e1-5f89-4f85-81d8-3454cca87bb6?autoplay=1&loop=1&mute=1"

Wrapping up our video embed code generator guide

In this guide, we've walked through the essentials of video embedding, covering exactly how it works. We’ve also shown how you can use Contrast's free video embed code generator to maintain control over your videos. It makes embedding videos easy and keeps your site looking great. You can also create a free Contrast account and upload your videos there to get detailed video analytics. Give it a try to make your website’s pages more engaging with video.