This is a complete guide to video hosting in 2024 and beyond. Welcome to the video world, At the starting point, you should be aware of top-of-funnel video content, marketing video content, and premium or paid video content.
Now, if you made your first video or are successful in the video space, knowledge about video hosting is essential in both scenarios.
Because, once you know the type of video hosting platform available in the market and include their features, you can easily decide where you should host your video as per the video content type. Let’s get started.
What is Video Hosting?
In short, anywhere you upload or share your video content that is called video hosting. For example, you can host your video on your web hosting or share your video on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.
All these are video hosting platforms. Also, there are many free and paid video hosting sites like Wistia, Vimeo, Vidello, Hippo Video, and others available in the market.
Every one of these has a similar function and a few of them have some advanced video marketing function.
But all of them have basic function like they let you upload video content on their server and allowing you to share video links or provide embed code to insert your video content into your website content or anywhere you wish.
However, you must know that there are free and paid video hosting sites. Unlike YouTube, which is free as it lets you use your audience and space to promote yourself, there are other paid video hosting as well.
You have to choose a video hosting platform based on your needs and the type of video content you have.
The paid video hosting sites are entirely for businesses, entrepreneurs, and coaches who would like to host premium or marketing videos.
Well, both have their range of advantages. Let us have a look at the details.
Why and Who Should Use Video Hosting Sites?
Hosting and accessing video content needs huge bandwidth and space as well as a content security matter. That’s where video hosting sites come into the picture.
If you have web hosting for your website, you can upload videos over there, but it does not allow much video optimization for marketing purposes, is not very secure also you will not get any traffic.
This can have a direct impact on the user experience as it can slow down the website speed.
These are some of the most common reasons and in these scenarios, video hosting sites are considered to host videos.
Video hosting sites are valuable for everyone willing to create and market their video.
After watching a video, people take action quickly which is why video is referred to as one of the best sales tools.
Some of the most common names of professionals who can majorly benefit from video hosting sites include…
- Blogger
- Marketer
- Influencer
- Coaches
- Small to Enterprises businesses
Having said that, anyone who is looking forward to growing their business online and improving their engagement with video content can use the video hosting platform.
However, can you rely on any such platform? No!
So let’s find out what to consider in detail.
Things to consider in a Video Hosting Platform
There are a lot of things that make a video hosting platform a great choice for professionals and businesses.
So, what are the parameters that the video hosting platforms need to pass to become one of the best video hosting platforms?
Well, let us have a look at them.
Video Player: When you are choosing a video hosting platform, the very first thing that you need to be sure about is the video player.
The hosting provider should allow you to set a thumbnail as per the content, add a play button, include a playbar, and customize everything to improve the viewing experience of the user. The more you personalize the video, the more it becomes eye-catching.
Video Protection: Video protection is one of the most common needs for every video creator. It is no secret that piracy has become a new issue in the video industry which is why video hosting platforms must take better action on privacy.
Therefore, while you are selecting a video hosting site, you must check the tools offered for video privacy and security. Never undermine this feature if you want to keep your video content protected.
Video Marketing App: Every video you make can be a salesman for your business. But your video hosting site should have the right tools to make it possible.
Make sure that the video hosting platform offers a range of marketing apps for your video marketing campaigns.
Video Analytics: A good video hosting provider must be built with powerful analytics. This is a must-have feature. When you can get an insight into video performance, it gives you a better room for making informed changes in video marketing strategy.
Video Collaboration: This is one of the major features that is offered by paid hosting platforms. With this feature, you can collaborate with your team members or maybe your clients. The collaboration makes it easy to make changes or comments to create an even better video for your brand or client.
Video Monetization: This is again a powerful feature when included in the video hosting platform, and can become beneficial. Now that you are creating a video, you definitely would like to earn money online from it.
App Integrations: The integration feature is one of the major needs for video marketing and communication purposes.
When you have the facility to integrate several tools within your video hosting provider, it can help to create and share videos easily with prospects and improve prospect engagement with personalized videos.
Live Streaming: With more people and influencers getting accustomed to the new way of interacting with customers, live streaming is becoming necessary. Therefore, when you are choosing a video hosting platform, make sure that it offers a live streaming feature.
Reliable Support: When you are choosing the video hosting platform, you must be aware of the support. Since problems have no time to show up, it would be great if the video hoisting company offered round-the-clock support.
This makes sure that you can find the proper solution to the problems wherever they show up.
Affordable Cost: There is no doubt that we are all looking forward to finding something within the budget. Therefore it would be great if you find a video hosting company within your budget.
Most of these platforms comprehend the price-related problems, and hence they keep affordable pricing.
Screen Recorder: This can be an amazing inclusion offered by the video hosting website. Not every hosting platform has this feature, and hence if you get this feature, it can be absolute bliss for you.
Now that you have checked some of the most common features that you should consider when choosing a video hosting site.
Remember not all video hosting sites contain all of the above features.
But, they will contain the majority of these features, so you have to select them as per your need.
However, with the choices offered like free and paid video hosting sites, how would you understand which one would be a better choice for you?
So let us have a look at it in detail.
Let’s start with free…
When should you consider Free Video Hosting?
Choosing a video hosting platform can be easy if you know what you want. Therefore, free hosting can be valuable for you only when these are your basic requirements.
Need huge users for your TOFU content
Getting users for your top-of-the-funnel (tofu) content is probably one of the hardest tasks. Since no one knows anything about you, marketing is paramount.
However, you can still get help from the free video hosting platform like YouTube.
As they already have a gigantic user base from around the world, you can host your video and use their users to earn a reputation.
Once people learn about you and your offerings, then you can move ahead to personalized video creation.
Higher Ranking on Google Search
If you have just landed in the video industry, it can initially be hard to go higher in the Google search. On YouTube, you can get a huge number of viewers by doing video SEO.
Monetize Your Video Contents
Yes, some free video hosting sites like YouTube allow you to monetize your video content. You can make money on YouTube once you reach certain criteria.
When you should consider paid Video Hosting?
Paid video hosting is the best option to keep video content secure and customize the video in the way you want for marketing or serve the paid video content to your student or client.
So let us have a look at when you should consider choosing paid hosting.
Remove Video Ads
One of the most terrible parts of free hosting platforms is the unnecessary showing of ads. Well, this can result in driving the viewers away from your video, and therefore, a paid hosting platform can be a valuable choice.
With these platforms, you will not drive your viewers away because there will be no ads. You have the freedom to personalize the videos and remove the ads. This will keep the focus on your content.
No Recommended Video
Generally, the free video hosting site, when showing a video, tends to recommend the same kind of videos. These are the competitors, and hence it can easily drive viewers away from your video.
With paid video hosting, you can stay assured that there will be nothing as such. They do not offer any recommendations except showing your video content, thereby increasing the conversion on your landing page.
To Host Premium Video Content
If you planning to make a paid video course then paid video hosting can be a valuable choice.
Collect Email
Yes, it is possible to collect email within your video by using email capture forms. This option is available on Vidello, and Hippo Video.
So from now don’t let your audience leave your landing page after watching your video. This is one of the best ways to build your email list.
Free, Paid Video Hosting Platforms in 2024
By now, you have a clear idea that there are both paid and free video hosting platforms available in the market, but here we will have a look at both free and paid ones.
Free Video Hosting Sites
YouTube
YouTube probably needs no introduction in today’s era, as this of the top Free Video Hosting sites available on the internet. There are more than 1.9 billion active users on the site, making it one of the most beneficial hosting platforms to earn users for your videos.
Since for a content creator, it can be pretty hard to acquire a large number of viewers, with YouTube, now you will be able to continue creating and acquiring huge numbers. It can be a great Video Hosting for Small businesses.
If you want to compare something with the big size of YouTube and the huge customer base, then probably Facebook is the eligible name.
It has a big 2.45 billion active users on this platform, and it can become a great choice for individuals and for your business to grow online.
Instagram is another huge social media platform that allows businesses and individuals to create and host videos. With more than 130 million users on this platform, it can be beneficial for you to create brand awareness and product introduction.
This is the second most accessible network after Facebook which has a huge user count. Whether it is about creating illustrative videos or imagery videos, this video platform can fit every business and individual need.
There are other free video hosting platforms available in the market that you can use to improve your user base. Some of them include Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Best Paid Video Hosting Sites
Being in the video hosting avenue, you have heard of a few common names like Wistia, Dailymotion, Vimeo.com as well as Jetpack.
Well, in the market with an unbelievable choice of video hosting platforms, here are some of the best-paid video hosting platforms for you.
Spotlightr
They were formerly popular as vooPlayer, but then they rebranded as Spotlightr. This is a video marketing platform also known for being one of the best video hosting websites that enables you to host your video and enjoy the benefits of this platform.
The platform has been further optimized for faster and better playback along with being integrated with some of the interactive features. This can minimize the marketing need for the video. This is one of the best choices for small and medium-sized businesses that are willing to improve their promotion.
Spotlightr Pros
- It can easily support mobile screen
- It is easy to upload in bulk
- They have amazing privacy options
- It becomes easy to share on the social platforms
- It has been powered by powerful analytics
- You can enjoy the video streaming
- Easy drag-and-drop tools for fast customization
Vidello
Vidello is the first name on my list of exceptional video content marketing platforms and the most trusted video hosting website for businesses and entrepreneurs.
Startups and entrepreneurs can now use this software to improve customer experience, increase their sales, and do better business with videos.
Vidello Pros
- Use CTA in your videos to increase the checkouts
- You can build an email list with Vidello
- It has a screen recorder which is absolute bliss for the creators
- It supports video streaming
- Improve your marketing with automatic video SEO optimization
Hippo Video
Hippo Video is my second choice because it is a complete platform for video marketing. This video software has been integrated with a powerful feature that gives it the ability to promote brand awareness, communicate product and service value, and edit and customize products to gain more customers.
The video marketing platform has been developed to create different types of awesome videos. The video editor available on this platform helps to modify the videos to improve the user experience. There are several other features integrated to improve your video to improve customer engagement.
Hippo Video Pros
- You can create video effortlessly using the inside tools
- Exceptional video layer customization
- You can easily add video polls, and quizzes, and make other integration
- Easy to collect Surveys and feedback
- Provide Detailed analytics to track the video performance
- Easy sharing options
Viddle
Viddle is a new video hosting platform and also a marketing suite that helps you host and market your video. This is probably one of the most seamless video marketing and hosting technologies ever made for businesses and entrepreneurs.
This multipurpose video marketing technology can become one of the best choices for businesses willing to host the video on an ultra-fast server.
Viddle Pros
- It is beginner-friendly due to the easy-to-use interface
- It offers screencast and webcam recording
- You can add CTA in your video for more engagement
- It is a fast hosting that supports the majority of devices
- An all-rounder video marketing software with powerful analytics
- You can also keep your video private and allow only trusted audiences to get access
Wave.video
If you are looking for a video hosting platform that includes video editing, a landing page generator, and a content calendar, Wave. video is something you are looking for.
It can be a great inclusion for small businesses, marketers, and bloggers looking for video-making to video marketing solutions.
Wave.video Pros
- You can create professional videos using the images and clips
- A powerful video hosting platform
- If you have a team, it is great because of the availability of multiple user logins
- Rich snippets enable SEO boost
Uscreen
Uscreen allows anyone to easily build subscription channels and streaming to sell content online. This is one such platform that takes away all your worries related to video hosting.
You can record videos from anywhere and use them in your video. Some of the exceptional features offered by them include streaming, bulk uploading, live streaming, and powerful analytics.
Uscreen Pros
- You can use the live streaming service and chat with your customers
- Included with power analytics
- You can use the email automation tool
Vidyard
Vidyard is an online business avenue that can host videos and reach a huge audience. This powerful tool can convert more sales with amazing marketing and video hosting tools. It helps to automate the marketing process.
The CRM tools included in this system help you to manage the customer, understand their behavior, and implement strategies to retain them. This software eliminates all the barriers that come with the marketing route with its exceptional features.
Pros:
- You can customize your video player
- You can use the A/B split to measure how the video is performing
- You can allow viewers to browse directories by customizing the playlist
- You can use CRM tools to analyze the performance of the viewer
- You can control the video by limiting its reach and public audience
- With the multiple-user ability, you and your team members can use this software
FAQ
Why use Video Hosting Websites?
Video hosting websites are absolutely a necessity for the era. It helps you to edit, manage and upload your videos without facing any hassle. With these platforms, you will be able to share the videos on any social platform that you wish.
Besides, the powerful customization options included helps you to customize videos by including logo, and audio changes along with taking benefit from the marketing analytics.
What are the Best Video Hosting Sites?
There are several video hosting sites available in the market, and some of the most popular ones include YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia.
What Is the Best Video Hosting Solution: Free or Paid?
This is an arguable topic, however, the answer still remains the same. You have to choose as per your needs and requirements.
If you are just starting out and you need more customers, free Video Hosting sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram can be beneficial as you can benefit from their huge customer rates.
On the other hand, if you are a business and wanted to serve only a certain group of people, paid hosting is always a better choice. You can customize the videos as you wish to improve the conversion.
Up to You
Now that you have checked the free and paid video hosting websites, you can find a reliable and convenient one for you.
Remember, both have their range of advantages, but when you are looking forward to personalizing a video for your desired audience, paid hosting can be a good selection.
Thank you for making up here. Hopefully, you were able to get the information you were looking for.
By the way, don’t forget to share your thoughts or comment on something that you feel can be a great choice for video hosting. I will be more than happy to gather information.
