Video not showing on some phones /mobile

Site URL: https://www.hayloft.media/

Why is video not playing on some mobile phones? How can I check that the video is working on every phone? https://www.hayloft.media/

Hi jaggerdesign, 

I don't currently see any video on the page you page. However, if you are referring to a background video on your site, as it is outlined on the Squarespace's help article that I am linking below, the display of these videos on mobile devices will depend on the visitor's connection speed and browser version. Considering that background videos may not always display on mobile devices, Squarespace usually recommends setting a mobile fallback image to appear when the video banner can't load:

Adding background videos - Before you begin

Hi, I've developed a fix for this issue.

There is indeed a Squarespace issue that stops background videos from playing on mobile. It's nothing to do with connection speed etc - I'm at home with good wifi and only Squarespace websites are not showing autoplaying background videos.

My fix for this issue doesn't require you to do anything differently, you still paste your video URL into the background video field as normal.  Here's a demo - 

I think this fix will provide real value to Squarespace website owners, so I'm going to start offering it as a plugin for £40, but before I start writing instructions and setting up the product I just wanted to gauge interest.  I will also be offering it to my existing Squarespace clients.

The plugin has some stipulations:

• You must be using Squarespace 7.1 (but if there's enough interest I'll adapt it to work on 7.0 as well)
• You must have the business plan or higher to be able to paste the custom code for this fix
• You must be using a paid Vimeo account, not Youtube. Most people should be doing this anyway because Youtube videos have youtube stuff all over them resulting in a poor user experience, and a paid Vimeo account is required for background videos
• On iOS there's a feature that stops autoplay videos if the device is in low-power mode.

Please let me know if you're interested, thanks!

Andrew Moore
Digital Freelancer & Squarespace Expert of 6+ years

Hi Andrew,

I am interested in your plugin for my SS site liamhjames.com

Please let me know if you're still offering it.

Thanks!

Liam

Any feedback on this plugin? And has Squarespace not fixed the issue yet?!

If you are using Squarespace 7.1, you no longer need to host your background videos on a third party site. You can now host them on Squarespace for playback in section backgrounds in version 7.1 sites. 

Thanks Paul, that's absolutely correct. If you're using Squarespace 7.1 you can upload videos directly to Squarespace without needing Youtube or Vimeo. Definitely give it a go and check it on mobile. My experience, and the experience of people who've bought the plugin is that Squarespace is compressing the video to 360p on mobile, making it is very pixelated. Here's a screenshot of the code which shows the resolution version of the video being used:

Uploading via Vimeo results in a better quality video, but you do need a paid Vimeo subscription. So for anyone wanting good quality video on mobile, or anyone using Squarespace 7.0, the plugin is still a viable option. There's some feedback from customers on the Youtube demo, and here's a few quotes from people who've recently purchased:

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Thanks so much andrew you rock!! I have been wanting that for SOO long – video backgrounds that work on mobile.  The built in SS video feature seems to compress and kill the video (makes it all go pixelated).

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Hello Andrew,
Everything works as you said, it's an amazing product. 🙂

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It works!! Absolutely fantastic stuff, you are a lifesaver. Many thanks from myself and the client, they will be very happy that this is resolved.

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Had to try it at once and it looks amazing!! Great job! Thank you so much.

I hope that helps you make an informed decision.

Andrew (plugin creator)