How to Add Website Homepage Videos in Place of Hero Images in WordPress

You may wonder why I wrote this post. After all, WordPress provides just enough functionality to create a blog post. But what if you want to make your site more engaging?

You can use several tools to add more features to your WordPress site. In this tutorial, we’ll discuss how to replace hero images with video on your website’s home page. There are a few reasons why you might want to do this. First, videos allow you to add more depth to your content. Second, videos can be more engaging for your visitors. And finally, videos can be easier to create then still images. So, let’s get started.

Why Videos Instead of Still Images For My Website’s Homepage?

First, videos can add another layer of meaning to your content. For instance, you can use a video to explain a complex concept like SEO or content marketing. Or perhaps you’re passionate about something and you want to explain your point of view to the world. Either way, you can use videos to add more value to your content.

Still images are useful for making a quick visual appeal to your visitors. But beyond that, your website’s home page doesn’t need to feature images. Videos can be just as effective (if not more so) at grabbing the attention of your visitors.

Step 1: Select A Title For My Website’s Video Page

To begin, you’ll need to find a suitable title for your website’s video page. Ideally, you want to find a title that is short and easily remembered. Additionally, you want to pick a title that won’t be used elsewhere on your site. If you use the same title for a completely different section of your site, then it might be difficult for visitors to find the right content. This could potentially damage your site’s SEO.

Step 2: Customize The Theme

Next, you’ll need to customize your theme so that the video displays properly on your website’s home page. On most themes, videos will display at the top of a post within a section called “News” or “Blog”. But if videos are intended to replace the standard hero images on your site’s home page, then you’ll want to move them to the top of a new section called “Page” or “Landing Page”.

If you’re not sure how to do this, then it’s best to leave this task for a professional. But before you do that, take a look at the FAQ section of your WordPress dashboard. This is where WordPress displays questions and answers. When a visitor clicks on a question, a small window will pop up with the answer. Additionally, there will be a small excerpt of text below the answer. If you’re using video at the top of your page, then this is the content that will be visible to your visitors as soon as they arrive.

Step 3: Create The Body Of The Article

Now that you have your title and a few videos, you can move to the fun part. The body of an article is where you’ll put in-demand information that is relevant to your ideal audience. In an SEO-optimized piece, the body should include a blend of keywords, interesting facts, and an optimally sized example of quality content. As you build out your article, always keep in mind that your goal is to get visitors to click on a video or an image so that they can learn more about your topic.

Step 4: Upload Your Video Files

After you’ve written your article, it’s time to upload your video files. Before you do this, you’ll need to make sure that your videos are selected for the blog post that you’re writing.

Videos selected for a post will display at the top of the blog post. If you want to replace the standard hero images on your site’s home page with a series of videos, then upload the videos to a folder called “videos” within your blog’s posts folder. This folder should then be selected in the “Attachments” area of your WordPress dashboard.

If you use an E-commerce WordPress theme then you can use the built-in gallery function to add images to your site. However, if you want to replace the default hero images on your site’s home page with a video, then it’s best to use a media manager (like WordPress Media) to upload and organize your videos. This way, you can keep track of your videos’ specifications (like file size and aspect ratio) and can easily replicate the look of your website’s home page.

Step 5: Test The Outcome

Once you’ve uploaded all of your videos, it’s time to test the outcome. Visit your site’s home page and click on an article to see how it looks with video.

Take a look at the example below. “How to Add Website Homepage Videos in Place of Hero Images in WordPress” is a tutorial for WordPress beginners. But as you can see, the example features video at the top of the website’s home page and a few paragraphs below.

What if My Article Doesn’t Fit With Videos?

If your article doesn’t fit with videos, then it’s time to swap out the text for something that will work better with video. The key is to keep things as close to the original as possible while adding in the necessary changes to make it work for video.

For example, let’s say that you’ve written an article about Apple’s new smartphone. Naturally, you’d want to feature images of the device in your article. But since you’re writing for a video-centric audience, it’s best to use a video to show what the phone is like. By using an image-based blog post along with a video, you can keep the original text while adding in the information that makes it more video-friendly.

Keep Things Fresh

Last but not least, it’s important to keep things fresh. After all, your website’s home page will be the first thing that your visitors see when they visit your site. To keep your audience engaged, you’ll want to come up with new content to feature on your site’s home page. For instance, if you notice that a video is doing well, then you can use it as the basis for a new article. Or, if you want to expand on an idea or topic then use that as the starting point for a brand new blog post. Keeping things fresh is one of the easiest ways to gain credibility and make your site more engaging.

Above all, videos can add another layer of meaning to your content. If you’re not sure where to start, then begin with the basics and work your way up. You’ll eventually discover that videos can help make your site more accessible and relatable to your audience. Plus, you can use several tools to make your video publishing process a little less stressful. So, if you’re looking to add videos to your site, then keep looking till you find something that fits.