How to Add Video to Your Shopify Store: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you looking to jazz up your Shopify store? Have you considered adding videos to your product pages? Not only can videos enhance understanding of your products, but they can also boost customer engagement and increase conversion rates. In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about adding videos to your Shopify store.

💡Pro tip: Video is a great way to spark discovery and engagement on your site - but it's also pretty passive. That is, unless you're incorporating shoppable video. You can turn any static video into an immersive, interactive experience for free with Ghost's shoppable video tool. Create your account now.

Why Adding Video to Your Shopify Store is Important

As an e-commerce business owner, you are always looking for ways to improve your store and attract more customers. One of the most effective ways to do this is by adding videos to your Shopify store. Videos can help you showcase your products in a more engaging and interactive way, and they can also help you build trust with your customers. Here are some of the key reasons why adding video to your Shopify store is so important:

Boosting Customer Engagement

One of the biggest benefits of adding videos to your Shopify store is that it can increase customer engagement. Videos are dynamic and attention-grabbing, making them a great way to draw in and entertain potential customers. When customers are more engaged, they are more likely to spend time on your site and explore your products.

For example, if you sell clothing on your Shopify store, you could create a video that shows models wearing your clothes in different settings. This would give customers a better idea of how the clothes fit and look in real life, and it would also make your store more visually appealing and interesting.

Increasing Conversion Rates

Another advantage of adding videos to your Shopify store is that they can increase conversion rates. When customers watch a video that showcases your product, they get a better understanding of how it works and why it's valuable. This can lead to a greater sense of trust and a higher likelihood of purchasing.

For example, if you sell electronics on your Shopify store, you could create a video that shows how your product works and what its key features are. This would help customers understand the value of your product and make them more likely to buy it.

Enhancing Product Understanding

Videos are an excellent way to enhance product understanding. Whether you're selling clothing or electronics, videos can help customers see how the product looks or functions in action. This can help them better understand the features and benefits that your product offers.

For example, if you sell kitchen appliances on your Shopify store, you could create a video that shows how to use your products to create delicious meals. This would help customers understand the value of your products and give them ideas for how to use them in their own lives.

Improves Discovery

Think about the last time you visited a Target or Costco store. Chances are you went in there to buy one or two items and walked out with a cart of treasures and discoveries you found along the way. This in-store discovery experience is pretty hard to replicate online, which is typically driven by user intent and searches. In fact, most discovery is done outside of your website. Many consumers will discover a product of interest on social media, then seek it out from a brand.

Video however, can be a way to bring this social discovery experience onto your ecommerce site. Shoppers can click into a video to get immersed in product details or how something works, and then be motivated to buy a product they may have never otherwise sought out on your store.

In conclusion, adding video to your Shopify store is an excellent way to improve customer engagement, increase conversion rates, and enhance product understanding. By creating high-quality videos that showcase your products in an engaging and informative way, you can attract more customers and build a stronger brand online.

Preparing Your Video Content

Choosing the Right Video Format

Before adding videos to your Shopify store, you'll need to decide on the right video format. Some popular formats include MP4, AVI, and MOV. MP4 is the most widely supported format, making it a safe choice. AVI is typically higher quality, but the file size can be quite large. MOV is considered a professional format and offers excellent quality, but it might not be supported by all platforms. Note that Shopify promotes MP4 as their video file of choice.

Optimizing Video Quality and Size

When it comes to video quality and size, it's important to strike a balance between high quality and fast loading times. Large videos can take a long time to load, which can drive customers away. To optimize video quality and size, you can try compressing the video or adjusting the resolution. You'll also want to make sure that your videos are in a reasonable file size range, typically between 1 and 20 MB.

Creating Engaging Thumbnails

Once you've created your video, you'll need to create a thumbnail to represent it on your product page. This thumbnail should be engaging and attention-grabbing to entice customers to click and watch the video. Consider using an image from the video or creating a custom thumbnail that accurately represents the content.

Adding Video to Your Product Pages

Uploading Videos Directly to Shopify

The first step to adding videos to your product pages is to upload them directly to Shopify. To do this, navigate to your product page in the Shopify admin and select the "Add Media" button. From there, you'll be able to select the video file from your computer and upload it to the Files section of your site. Once uploaded, you can adjust the video settings as desired and then pull the URL from the uploaded file to add it directly to a product page or other sections of the site.

Embedding Videos from External Platforms

If you're hosting your videos on external platforms like YouTube or Vimeo, you can easily embed them into your Shopify product pages. Simply copy the embed code from the platform and paste it into the HTML editor on your product page. In some cases you may also be able to drop a URL in from the uploaded video. You can adjust the appearance and size of the video as needed.

Customizing Video Display Settings

When adding videos to your product pages, it's important to customize the display settings to fit your branding and style. You can adjust the placement, size, and color of the video player to ensure that it fits seamlessly with the rest of your product page design. Consider A/B testing different video placements and styles to see which works best for your audience.

Incorporating Video into Your Store's Design

Using Shoppable Video on the Homepage or Product Detail Pages

Like we've mentioned, video is typically a pretty passive experience. But interactive video pulls double duty, informing and inspiring customers while also giving them a logical next click - to a product page where they can still watch your content while adding a product to cart. You can add interactive video to the home page to draw new shoppers in to your most intriguing content, or put videos on PDPs to provide additional information that will take people from viewing to shopping. Create free shoppable videos now!

Adding Video to Homepage Sliders

In addition to product pages, you can also incorporate videos into your store's design by adding them to homepage sliders. This can help draw customers in and showcase your brand story. Consider using videos that highlight your products, team, or values to engage customers and build trust.

Creating a Video Gallery

If you have multiple videos that you want to showcase, consider creating a video gallery within your Shopify store. This can be a separate page that highlights all of your videos in one place, making it easy for customers to browse and engage with your content.

Utilizing Video in Blog Posts

Finally, you can also incorporate videos into your blog posts. This can help break up your written content and make it more engaging and shareable. Consider incorporating explainer videos, how-to videos, or videos that showcase your products or services.

Conclusion

Incorporating videos into your Shopify store can be a powerful way to increase engagement and drive conversions. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can prepare and add high-quality videos to your product pages and store design. Keep in mind that video content should be engaging, informative, and on-brand to make the biggest impact. Remember, you can create interactive video for free with Ghost. Get your free shoppable video account here and start adding interactive video to your site in minutes.

Happy video-making!