How to Add Video to Your Website or Blog

YouTube has become synonymous with the phrase "web video" but there are plenty of alternative ways to add video to your website. While YouTube is a fine choice for many, there are others who would like to understand the range of video publishing alternatives.

Most webmasters are familiar with the process of embedding video media into web pages, but what about all the people who have started blogs or websites without html programming skills? This site is designed to help you. The process is illustrated by the diagram below.

You can click on the video overview section of the site to get an idea of the general process or you can click on the create, transfer/capture, edit, format/compress, add-to-web-page links in the above diagram.

The Main Focus of This Site

It's for people without lots of html skills who want to put a video on the web cheaply, easily, and fast.
Get-it-on-the-Web Details - We touch on other parts of the process (video capture, editing, etc.), but our emphasis is on the "getting it on to your web page" part.
Free Tools - The site emphasizes zero-cost tools that already exist on your PC or can be downloaded for free.
Mac and PC Solutions - because some editing and compression software are platform specific, we include examples for Mac users and PC users.
YouTube Alternatives - The site includes lots of alternative web video publishing solutions.

If you want to publish a video to your website that looks like this one to the right -- includes a nice little window plus buttons for play, stop, fast forward, etc -- we can help you get there quickly and easily. The computer you're reading this on (pc or mac) probably already has the software tools you need to add a video to your website.

There are also a few extra software tools (free ones you can download) we'll show you that will simplify and speed the process along.

This site was created because there seems to be lots of sites helping you create and edit videos, but not enough with simple information on how to publish those videos into your website or blog. There are others who insist on you buying their software to put your video on the web. If this site helps you, tell your friends and please link to it so more people can find it. Also, if you have suggestions or ideas on how we can improve this site, please go to our contact page. Thanks!

The Website Video Chase, and How You Can Cut to It

If you're in a hurry, go to the fast track section of this website. If you've already got a video on your computer, and you just need to get it up and playable on your website, the fast track section can take you through it pretty quick.

Where Do I Start?

Here are some suggested starting points:

Why bother putting video on your website? What are some good reasons to add video to your website?
I'd like a quick overview of what's involved putting video on my website.
I'm using a Windows PC and want to put a video on my website now.
I'm using a Mac and want to put a video on my website now.