Image vs. Video Background in Web Design
Do you follow the latest web design trends? Are you even abreast of what is going on in web design fashion? Personally I am interested in web design sphere and frequently read tons of articles related to the topic that is why I know a lot what people are writing and thinking about. I have read an imposing number of articles, where authors persisted on video-based websites to be the best options this year.
Love it or hate, accept it or not, web designers will definitely keep on using blown up full width and height videos to create, as they think, cool websites. But I would prefer to make a research and analyze why are videos supposed to be better than images? Just to mention, image backgrounds were really trendy during last years.
This article is going to clear up the difference between image and video website background, so there will two parts considering these both trends.
At first, we will define the pros and cons of video background.
Pros and Cons of Video Background
Pros of Video Background
Video is definitely good to use, when it adds your personal style to the website. Video has a power to express your personality and brand identity; it is the way to implement a good promotion campaign or something that will turn users to buy your product. In this term, video background is working.
I have found two bright examples how creative agencies show users their workflow and how they actually do what they do. I invite you to have a look at them:
Brand & interactive Design Team WAAAC
We should also admit that videos fill websites with dynamism and movement. It is a nice feature to provide users with immersive visual experience. While static pictures can either provoke users to think or not, video will surely do a fantastic job in making a website interactive.
NYC Investment Firm Bienville Capital Management
Video-based website designs draw users in immediately. They rouse the interest and inspire for deeper site exploration. Video is what can persuade visitors in that this particular website is good and modern, so it is worthy to stay and discover more about it.
Movie industry is for sure the leading one, where video-based websites are perfect to use. This feature allows producers/directors to promote the movie in the best possible way. Using background as a home for trailer is what contemporary cinephiles will like with no doubts. People interested in movie news and upcoming pictures, surf the Web carefully and look for information/trailers/actors on official movie websites.
Videographer’s portfolio website is the venue, where I would marvel at a video web design with pleasure. If creating videos is what you do and make profit in, you can’t ignore this coming web design trend – it is for you! Show your work, your style, your creativity with a fully video-based site! Here are some examples for you to enjoy and inspire:
Production House Profilm Portfolio Site
Before we will discuss a few drawbacks that video background designs have, enjoy this showcase of worthy websites with video-based designs I have picked for you:
Industrial Website of the Company that Builds Rail
Coffee and Tea BrandPromotional Website
Tyoulip Sisters Leather Handbags
Good website with different videos for all pages.
Awesome website with many full-screen videos.
Provoking website that gives you 60 seconds to make a decision.
Website that demonstrates speed and can’t be designed in other way.
Cons of Video Background
You should always remember that website should be fast-to-open, uncluttered and quick enough to keep users browsing it. That is why the video size should be taken into consideration. The more high-quality video is, the heavier it is, and the slower loading speed is. It is quite difficult to keep the balance between visual appeal and site loading, so it may be a problem for many who. In my opinion, sometimes it is better to use a cool image background than a low-quality video just to line with the trend.
You can doze a little while the website is loading.Full-screen video can easily make the content dull, but I am sure site owners have what to tell their customers besides of videos. When one decides to add full-screen video to his/her design, there are many preparations to be done: typography size and color, content alignment and arrangement. If you can’t realize these things perfectly, just don’t spoil your design with unnecessary videos.
Let’s summarize the first part of this article. Video background is both good and bad, and it depends on a particular situation whether it worth using or not. To have a full picture in mind, let’s proceed to the second part of this article, where we are going to discuss the pros and cons of using full-screen images as website background.
Pros and Cons of Using Full-Screen Images as Website Background
Pros of Using Full-Screen Images as Website Background
Background, let it be a monochrome colored one, a texture or pattern, or in our case image, serves for the aesthetic function primarily. The image, if used properly, adds style and personality to the site. Thus, it can be anything that makes sense to the website topic and aim. It is a good tone to use a static image background on any website type.
Day Dream Designs Creative Agency
Image website background is a good promotion for business. It is easy to make a good use of background space and put there a promotional picture. We should admit that in many cases, video website background would look ridiculous, unprofessional and inappropriate – just imagine a reputable bank website with a funny video-based design, I really doubt if this would engage tons of serious-intended clients.
University of San Diego – School of Business Administration
Prestigious Italian Furnishing CompanyGiellesse
Another good reason to have an image background instead of a video one is in gaining popularity. I mean, it is great for politicians, actors, photographers or anyone, who wants users to know them in face, to put an own browser-sized picture on the website layout. A video of you put on the background, I suppose, would be too much.
Employees of the company are portrayed on the background images.Electronic Music ArtistHenry Saiz
Blurred image backgrounds are in trend, as well as video-based sites. So if you want your website background to be static yet fashionable, use an image with a blurred effect. It will decorate the site look, plus pay more attention on the content instead of distracting users from it.
Charles-Axel Pauwels Design Portfolio
Photographers like to design their portfolio websites with actually portfolio works. Thereby, background is a perfect showroom for your most-loved or the best image you have. Within this simple action, it is real to persuade potential clients to hire you. Moreover, static image background may be replaced by a gallery with many pictures.
Photography Portfolio Website Design
Cons of Using Full-Screen Images as Website Background
The disadvantages of using image background are here to come. I am sorry to disappoint you, but this design technique have a few drawbacks as well. Photographic background can harm your website, if used not properly, i.e. image is of a low quality, far from the topic of the site, etc. The website can acquire an unprofessional and unattractive look though.
An image can distract users from the content. In a case it is more vivid, than the text (probably because of typography), you should forget about selling your product or services. Background is not the point of focus of a website design, it a decorative element with the most elementary functions, so it is wrong to pay too much attention on it.
Some pages of this site are a bit messy because of too varicolored image background.
The comparison we have made doesn’t persuade me that video background is better than image. The difference is obvious just when the professionalism of web design is different. It is really not a big deal whether your website has a cool video background or a stunning image-based design, but important is the aim you want to gain within this design. I can’t disagree, that movie websites are better when created with a wide use of videos, because it is the specific of this industry to attract and entertain people with dynamism.
Nevertheless, business websites or web design portfolios won’t lose if are developed as static themes that feature a proper color balance, nice typography, neat design, structured content pages and appropriate image background design.
It is your creativity that will help you to come up with something new and unique, but not the trends that are followed blindly by many people.
I hope this article threw light on some questions you have had and would serve you as a helpful hint on creating your own trendy design.
Thanks for sharing valuable information we are thinking its an small thing but this only things are influencing our website traffic. If you are newbie in this business then you should hire any web design company they will guide you correct because of while designing site content of the site and customer/desire visitors also matter alot all these stuffs are taken care by them only.
As designers and developers of LaQuadra BrandMovies website we can only say thank you! to this: “Awesome website with many full-screen videos.” :)
Very interesting article.
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Really great collection of websites that can helps to improve creativity and ideas. thanks for it.