Why You Should Never Upload a Video to WordPress (4 Reasons)

Why You Should Never Upload a Video to WordPress (4 Reasons)

WordPress is a fantastic platform for building websites, blogs, and online stores. It’s versatile, customizable, and relatively easy to learn. However, its versatility doesn’t mean it’s the best tool for every task. One area where WordPress falls short is video hosting. While it’s technically possible to upload videos directly to your WordPress media library, doing so can lead to a host of problems. This article will outline four key reasons why you should never upload videos directly to WordPress.

Reason 1: Performance and Website Speed

One of the most significant drawbacks of uploading videos to WordPress is the negative impact on your website’s performance and speed. Video files are notoriously large, and storing them on your WordPress server can quickly consume valuable resources.

• Increased server load: When visitors play videos hosted on your server, it places a significant strain on your server’s resources. This can lead to slower loading times for all visitors, even those who aren’t watching videos.
• Bandwidth consumption: Every time someone watches a video hosted on your server, it uses bandwidth. If you have a limited bandwidth allowance, hosting videos yourself can quickly deplete it, leading to overage charges or even website downtime.
• Slow page loading times: Slow loading times are a major turn-off for website visitors. They can lead to higher bounce rates, lower engagement, and ultimately, a decrease in conversions. Google also considers page speed as a ranking factor, so slow loading times can negatively impact your SEO.

Imagine a scenario where you have a popular blog post with an embedded video. If that video is hosted on your WordPress server, a surge in traffic to that post could overload your server, making your entire website unresponsive. This not only frustrates your visitors but also damages your brand reputation.

Reason 2: Limited Storage and Scalability

WordPress hosting plans often come with limitations on storage space. While this might be sufficient for text and images, videos can quickly eat up your allotted storage. As your video library grows, you’ll eventually need to upgrade to a more expensive hosting plan or face the prospect of deleting older content.

• Costly upgrades: Upgrading your hosting plan to accommodate more storage can be a significant expense, especially if you’re just starting out.
• Inflexible limitations: Even with a higher-tier hosting plan, you’ll still be bound by the storage limitations of your server. This can restrict your ability to add new video content as your website grows.
• Management overhead: Managing a large video library on your WordPress server can be a cumbersome task. You’ll need to manually organize, optimize, and maintain your video files, which can take up valuable time and resources.

Furthermore, scaling your video content on WordPress can be challenging. As your website grows and your audience expands, you’ll need to ensure that your server can handle the increased demand for video streaming. This may require significant technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.

Reason 3: Lack of Advanced Video Features

WordPress, by default, lacks the advanced video features offered by dedicated video hosting platforms. These features include:

• Video analytics: Understanding how your videos are performing is crucial for optimizing your content and engagement. WordPress doesn’t provide detailed video analytics, making it difficult to track metrics like views, watch time, and audience retention.
• Video optimization: Video optimization is essential for ensuring that your videos play smoothly on different devices and internet connections. WordPress doesn’t offer built-in video optimization tools, requiring you to rely on third-party plugins or manual encoding.
• Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN distributes your video content across multiple servers around the world, ensuring that viewers receive the best possible streaming experience, regardless of their location. WordPress doesn’t offer a CDN for video content, which can lead to buffering issues and lower quality playback for viewers in certain regions.

Dedicated video hosting platforms provide robust analytics that allow you to track user behavior, identify popular content, and optimize your video strategy. They also offer advanced video optimization tools that ensure your videos are encoded correctly and delivered efficiently to viewers. Finally, they typically include a CDN to provide a seamless viewing experience for users around the world. All of these features are essential for creating a successful video strategy.

Reason 4: Security Vulnerabilities

Uploading videos directly to WordPress can expose your website to security vulnerabilities. Large video files can be a target for hackers looking to exploit weaknesses in your server’s security. Furthermore, poorly optimized video files can create opportunities for malicious code to be injected into your website.

• Increased attack surface: Every file you upload to your server increases the potential attack surface for hackers. Large video files are particularly attractive targets due to their size and complexity.
• Malware injection: Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in your WordPress installation or plugins to inject malicious code into your video files. This code can then be used to compromise your website or infect visitors’ computers.
• Resource exhaustion: Hackers can also use malicious video files to overload your server and cause a denial-of-service attack. This can render your website inaccessible to legitimate users and damage your reputation.

Dedicated video hosting platforms invest heavily in security measures to protect your content and your viewers. They use advanced security protocols to prevent unauthorized access, detect and remove malware, and protect against denial-of-service attacks. By hosting your videos on a dedicated platform, you can significantly reduce your risk of security breaches.

The Alternatives: Dedicated Video Hosting Platforms

Instead of uploading videos directly to WordPress, consider using a dedicated video hosting platform. These platforms are specifically designed for storing, managing, and delivering video content efficiently and securely. Some popular options include:

• YouTube: The world’s largest video sharing platform, offering a free and easy way to host and share your videos.
• Vimeo: A popular platform for professional filmmakers and video creators, offering advanced features and a higher level of control over your content.
• Wistia: A platform designed specifically for businesses, offering advanced analytics, marketing integrations, and customizable video players.

These platforms offer a range of features and benefits that WordPress simply can’t match. They provide ample storage space, advanced video optimization tools, detailed analytics, and robust security measures. By using a dedicated video hosting platform, you can improve your website’s performance, enhance the viewing experience for your audience, and protect your website from security threats.

Embedding Videos in WordPress

The great news is you can still easily display your videos on your WordPress site without uploading them directly. All of the above-mentioned platforms allow for easy embedding of your videos. This allows you to keep the video files stored and delivered by the video platform, and simply show them on your WordPress pages. This means the video platform handles all the heavy lifting, like streaming, bandwidth, and storage, and your WordPress website simply shows the video.

Embedding is usually as simple as copying a code snippet provided by the video platform and pasting it into your WordPress page or post. WordPress will then render the video player automatically, allowing your visitors to watch your content without slowing down your website.

Conclusion

While it may be tempting to upload videos directly to WordPress, the potential drawbacks far outweigh the convenience. By using a dedicated video hosting platform, you can improve your website’s performance, enhance the viewing experience for your audience, and protect your website from security threats. So, the next time you’re creating a video for your website, remember: leave the video hosting to the experts and embed the video in WordPress.