How to Embed Videos (YouTube and MP4) on Shopify | Benefits and Drawbacks of Adding Video

Have you ever wanted to use video to explain a "product's appeal" or "how to use your site" — things that text and images alone can't fully convey?

This article explains how to embed (insert) videos on your Shopify site.
We'll also cover the benefits and drawbacks of embedding videos on your Shopify site.

3 Ways to Embed a Video

There are 3 ways to embed videos on Shopify

• Embed using a Shopify theme block
• Upload a video to Shopify and embed it
• Upload a video to YouTube and embed it

We'll explain each in detail below.

Embed Using a Shopify Theme Block

Some Shopify themes provide a block for embedding videos.

If your theme provides this block, you can embed videos without touching any source code, so no programming knowledge is needed.

On the other hand, one drawback is that you can't embed a video within the body of a product description or blog post.

First, check whether your Shopify theme provides a block for displaying videos. For the Dawn theme, there's a block called "Video" that lets you embed a video using a YouTube or Vimeo video link.

[How to Embed a Video in the Theme Editor (Dawn Theme)]

1. Go to Online Store > Themes
2. Click "Customize" on the theme where you want to insert the video, to open the theme editor
3. From the select box at the top center of the theme editor, choose the template for the page where you want to insert the video
4. Click the "Add section" button in the left menu
5. Select the "Video" block from the theme sections
6. Enter the required details, such as the YouTube video URL
7. Click "Save"

(Reference: Adding a "Video" block to the Dawn theme)

Upload a Video to Shopify and Embed It

Next, we'll introduce a method where you upload a video file to Shopify and use the <video> tag to embed it in your Shopify site.

The method of embedding a video using a Shopify theme block, described above, has the drawback that you can't freely change where the video is displayed. Using the <video> tag lets you embed a video within the body of a product description or blog post.

[How to Upload a Video to Shopify and Embed It]

1. 1 Upload the video file to Shopify and get its URL
1. Go to "Settings > Files"
2. Click "Upload files"
3. Click the link button that appears after uploading to get the video file's link
2. 2 Use the uploaded video URL to display it on your Shopify site
1. Go to "Online Store > Blog posts"
2. Select the blog post where you want to embed the video, and open the editor
3. Click "<> (Show HTML)" in the editor
4. Add the [Sample <video> tag code] shown below
5. Replace the [video file URL] placeholder in the sample code you added in step 2-4 with the video file URL you obtained in step 1-3
6. Click "Save"

[Sample <video> tag code]

<video controls="controls" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
<source src="[video file URL]" type="video/mp4" />
</video>

[Video embedded using the steps above]

Here's a video actually embedded using the steps above (embedding a video with the <video> tag).

* We used a blog post for this example, but you can embed a video on a product page using the same steps.

Upload a Video to YouTube and Embed It

Finally, we'll introduce how to embed a YouTube video on your Shopify site.

The benefits of using YouTube videos are that you can expect traffic to your site via YouTube, and you can check data like view counts.
The drawback is the extra step of uploading the video file to YouTube. That said, it's not too difficult once you get used to it.

[How to Embed a YouTube Video on a Shopify Site]

* This is a method for embedding an already-published YouTube video. For how to upload a video to YouTube, see "Upload YouTube videos."

1. Copy the embed code from the published YouTube video
1. Go to the published YouTube video
2. Click the "Share" button
3. Click "Embed"
4. Copy the source code starting with "<iframe ~" shown in the pop-up
2. Use the embed code to display it on your Shopify site
1. Go to "Online Store > Blog posts"
2. Select the blog post where you want to embed the video, and open the editor
3. Click "<> (Show HTML)" in the editor
4. Add the source code you copied in step 1-4
5. Click "Save"

[Video embedded using the steps above]

Here's a video actually embedded using the steps above (embedding a YouTube video on Shopify).

* We used a blog post for this example, but you can embed a video on a product page using the same steps.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Embedding Videos on Shopify

Benefits of embedding videos on Shopify

• Can stimulate customers' purchase intent
• Can ease customer concerns about a product
• Increases time spent on your e-commerce site
• Can also have a positive effect on SEO

Drawbacks of embedding videos on your Shopify site

• Video production takes time
• Video production costs money
• Site load speed becomes slower

Shopify Apps That Help with Embedding Videos

Tolstoy

Tolstoy is a video commerce tool that lets you easily embed short videos on your e-commerce site, boosting product understanding, conversion rate, and time on site. Its "shoppable video" feature lets users view linked product information and even purchase without leaving the video, providing customers with a seamless, video-driven purchase experience.

Thanks to its variety of video formats, ease of implementation, and impact on sales, it has been adopted by over 5,000 brands worldwide.

The blog article below explains Tolstoy's features, pricing plans, and setup in detail. Please use it as a reference.

Shopify App "Tolstoy" That Delivers a Seamless, Video-Driven Purchase Experience
Tolstoy is a video commerce tool that makes it easy to embed short videos on an e-commerce site. It boosts product understanding and improves conversion rate and time on site. On Shopify, it can be implemented with no code, and the impact on site speed is minimal. Analytics features and a variety of formats help increase sales.
​

In Closing

This article explained 3 main ways to embed videos on your Shopify site in detail:

1. Using a theme block
2. Uploading a video directly to Shopify
3. Embedding a YouTube video

Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks, but what they all have in common is that video content is a powerful tool for boosting customer engagement and effectively conveying a product's appeal.