This year, video content is expected to make up nearly three quarters of all web traffic — and web development platform Wix is responding to the trend with a new option for customizing both the look and monetization strategy of videos. On Wednesday, April 26, the company launched Wix Video, a new option for Wix users to share and sell videos online.
Typically, adding videos from third-party platforms removes the customization options, keeping the characteristic look viewers have come to associate with platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. With Wix’s new video tools, videos can be curated from multiple third-party players including YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, yet can be customized to maintain a look consistent with the entire website.
When clicked, the videos will play with their characteristic look from each platform, but from the webpage, users can customize the single frame users see as well as the colors, text, and buttons. As a result, from the webpage, videos from Facebook looks the same as videos added through YouTube.
The feature means that websites can curate videos from multiple sources onto a single page while keeping the overall look consistent. Videos can also be organized into multiple channels, and YouTube users can automatically sync videos to update on the website.
Customization goes beyond the way the video appears on the page when users host the video directly on Wix. Using Wix, even after the web visitor clicks play, the video can be tailored to a certain look, including the way the text for the video’s title appears as well as colors and and buttons.
The Wix-hosted videos also open up additional avenues to profit from videos. The videos can be sold or rented as individual, on-demand videos. Or, websites can sell monthly subscriptions to the video library — an option popular for online classes and fitness videos. The prices for the ad-free videos are set by the web designer, not Wix, and the web platform also doesn’t take a commission from those video sales.
“[Video is] such a profitable medium, but we wanted creators to have control over their videos,” Danielle Raiz, head of Wix Video, told Digital Trends. “In terms of design and monetization, we wanted them to be able to control how the content is displayed.”
The new video options are designed for multiple users, from videographers creating a portfolio and instructors creating tutorials to businesses sharing how-tos and product videos online. The video features are part of Wix’s “fremium” model, where users can start a website for free, but advanced features require a paid account.
The new video features join the platform’s ecommerce, email, marketing, and booking tools. “[Wix] is a very strong ecosystem that allows you to take your business in many different ways,” Raiz said. “Filmmakers selling videos, yoga instructors with online and offline classes — there are so many interesting use cases and so many people using this and we wanted to give them the best tools to do that.”
