Squarespace high quality background video files plugin
This plugin will make your background videos high-quality on all devices.
Why this plugin exists
Squarespace has improved its video compression technology to ensure your background videos uploaded directly to Squarespace play at a reasonable quality on all devices. This wasn’t always the case (Squarespace played 360p versions of videos on mobile, which I fixed with a previous plugin).
But even with the improved compression on uploaded videos, I’ve still noticed that some videos (not all) are heavily pixelated due to over compression by Squarespace. If you think your video has been heavily compressed by Squarespace, keep reading…
I found another way to upload video files to Squarespace that doesn’t compress the video, though the video file must be under 20mb. Despite the smaller file size, I still get better results using free software like Handbrake to compress video to under 20mb and then uploading to Squarespace using this plugin rather than uploading directly to Squarespace the standard way.
Watch the demonstration video below to see the difference in quality for yourself. You’ll see that more complex videos with lots of variation and moving pixels perform much better with the plugin. Simpler videos are harder to differentiate.
Plugin need-to-knows
- Your video background file must be under 20mb and an MP4. Further down this page is a video showing how you can convert and compress your videos while maintaining high quality.
- You need to upload a mobile fallback image for the video in order for this plugin to work.
- As you can only upload videos directly to Squarespace in version 7.1 (not 7.0), this plugin will work with all 7.1 Squarespace websites.
- You only need to install the plugin once, rather than install it for every video you add.
- You must have the Squarespace business plan or higher to add the plugin
- The plugin has been tested on various iOS and Android devices. If a device/browser is able to display a background video, the plugin will work.
- The trade-off of displaying a higher quality video on mobile is your mobile visitors’ browser needs to download a larger video file, The actual time it takes will depend on the video length, file size, Squarespace’s servers and your visitors’ network conditions. It is up to you to determine what is the best solution for your website. I have found in my tests that videos uploaded with this plugin load quicker than videos uploaded to Squarespace the normal way.
How to use the plugin
After purchase you will receive the plugin code and instructions as a text file by email. This will include a link to video instructions on how to compress/convert your video, how to install the plugin and how to upload video files.
Why no demo site? Simply to protect myself because someone with knowledge of javascript and developer tools could steal the plugin from the demo site without paying for it. I understand that you want to see the plugin working, so that’s why I have a video demoing the plugin. If you have any other questions beyond what is shown in the video, feel free to contact me.
Terms of use
If there is an issue with the plugin I will provide 30 days support from the date of purchase.
If the plugin does not work due to other custom code you’ve added (which is unlikely if your other custom code works correctly) I will need to quote for time to investigate and fix the issue.
Because the plugin is a digital download, I cannot offer a refund, but please let me know if there are any issues. I will be fair and accommodating.
Feel free to use the plugin on all your websites.
You are not allowed to give away or sell this plugin under any circumstances.
Plugin reviews
Read reviews of my plugins. Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to send me a thank you message or leave a comment on the Squarespace forums and on Youtube.
Converting and compressing video
The video below demonstrates how to compress your video using free tools if you need to get it below 20mb.