Each embedded player loads its own scripts, styles and images before anyone presses play. Show a still image with a play symbol that loads the player only when tapped, and give each video its own page.

A testimonials page that will not scroll

A home builder's testimonials page shows six videos of past clients standing in their new kitchens and living rooms, each embedded from YouTube.

On the office computer it looks fine. On a phone, away from wireless, the page shows grey boxes, ignores a swipe for a long while, then jumps as the players appear one by one.

The builder hears about it from a prospective client, who mentions in passing that the reviews page never finished loading.

Visitors who give up never see a single testimonial. The page meant to reassure them has become the slowest page on the site.

What an embedded player brings with it

An embedded video is a frame: a small window holding a page from the video site. That page loads its own player scripts, style sheets and preview image, and runs them on arrival.

All of this happens whether or not anyone presses play. The player has to be ready in case they do.

With six embeds, the browser builds six players. It may reuse some files after the first, but each player still has to be set up and run separately.

What six players cost a phone

Each player costs the phone in several ways at once:

A desktop computer on a fast office connection absorbs most of this unnoticed. A phone on a cellular connection does not, and the page waits.

Why the page will not scroll

A phone's browser handles much of its work one task at a time. While it is busy setting up players, a swipe waits its turn, so the page seems frozen.

As each player finishes, it settles into its final size and the page shifts. A visitor who has started reading loses their place.

None of this shows on the office computer, which is why the problem can go unnoticed for months.

A still image that becomes a player

The lighter way is to show a still image for each video, with a play symbol over it. Nothing from the video site loads until someone taps.

When a visitor taps a still, a short script swaps it for the real player. Only that one video's files load, and only for the visitor who asked for them.

On iPhones and iPads, which do not let a video start on its own, the visitor may need to tap a second time. The player's own play button makes that second tap obvious.

Build each still as a plain link to the video's own page as well. If the script ever fails, the tap still leads somewhere useful.

Choose the still yourself rather than accepting the frame the video site picks. A clear face in the finished room says more than a blurred moment mid-sentence.

Words beside every video

Under each still, add the client's first name and area, what was built or renovated, and one or two lines quoted from the video.

A visitor who never presses play still gets the testimonial. So does a visitor reading on a bus with the sound off, and so does anyone who cannot hear it.

The words also give search engines something to read. Google cannot watch a video, but it can read the quote and the description beside it.

A worked example

A home automation installer in the Okanagan wires lighting controls, thermostats, cameras and whole-house audio into new and existing homes, working with builders and homeowners.

Its testimonials page held six videos of clients showing their systems: dimming the lights from a phone, checking a camera from work, setting the heat from bed. On phones, the page stalled.

Each embed loaded a full player and a large preview image. The words on the page amounted to a heading and a single line.

The page now shows six stills, each with a play symbol, the client's first name and town, the system installed and a short quote. Tapping a still loads that one player.

The installer chose each still itself: the client in the room, with the system in view.

Each video also has its own page, with a written summary of what the client says and photographs of the work, linked from its still.

When one video per page serves better

A page for each testimonial gives it an address of its own. A visitor can send one particular story to a partner, and the business can link to it from the matching service page.

The testimonials page then becomes an index of stills, names and quotes, light enough for any phone, with the videos one tap away.

Each page can also carry photographs of that project, so a visitor can study the finished work at their own pace.

Shorter clips suit this layout. A testimonial that makes its point in a minute asks less of a visitor than one that runs for five.

The counter-case

A page with one video at the top, where the video is the main content, can embed it directly. One player is a reasonable cost when most visitors came to watch.

The still image matters most when there are several players, or when the video sits below content that visitors came to read.

Even then, a written summary beside the single video still serves visitors who cannot or will not play it.

Lightening the testimonials page

  1. Open the page on a phone with wireless turned off.
  2. Count the players that load before anyone taps.
  3. Choose a still for each video.
  4. Load each player only when its still is tapped.
  5. Add a name, a project and a quote under each still.
  6. Give each video its own page with a summary.
  7. Test again on the same phone and connection.

Step four makes the difference. Six stills load like six photographs, and the cost of a player is paid only by the visitor who asks to watch.

Images that load whether or not the reader asked are also the theme of Gmail now loads newsletter images itself, written for anyone who sends a newsletter.

Frequently asked questions

Does an embedded video load before anyone presses play?

Yes. Each embed loads the video site's player scripts, style sheets and preview image as soon as the page opens, so that it is ready if someone taps.

Why does the page freeze on a phone?

The phone's browser is busy setting up every player at once, and a swipe waits until it is done. On a slower processor, that takes a while.

What is a click-to-load video?

A still image with a play symbol that is swapped for the real player only when tapped. Until then, nothing from the video site loads at all.

Why might iPhone visitors have to tap twice?

iPhones and iPads do not let a video start on its own. The first tap loads the player, and the second tap starts the video playing.

Should each testimonial video have its own page?

It helps. A page per video gives it an address to share and room for a written summary and photographs, while the main testimonials page stays a light index.

Is one embedded video on a page a problem?

Rarely, when the video is the main content and sits at the top. The cost grows with every additional player, and with videos placed below the content visitors came to read.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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