As a Brine family template, Mercer has built-in flexibility, making it a great blueprint for anyone who has videos to showcase, from cinematographers to video production companies to video journalists.
Because it allows for one-page scrolling, it can work well as a site to highlight one large project, like a feature film. You can create banners with full-bleed videos or use video backgrounds in the bottom header. The template also allows for parallax scrolling, giving the site a wow factor that works well for production companies looking to showcase their video work.
The template can also function as a video portfolio, thanks to the ability to index gallery sections with videos, giving visitors a sense of a videographer’s breadth of work.
Whether you’re promoting one video project or building a portfolio for all your work, these Squarespace templates have you covered.
BEST FOR MIXED MEDIA
Ishimoto
With a full-bleed carousel, this template works well for mixed-media artists looking for a showstopper website.
There’s a reason Squarespace is one of the most popular web building and hosting services out there: it caters to users of all web design skill levels thanks to its easy drag and drop page builders, affordable plans, around the clock customer support, and modern template designs. But does all of that mean Squarespace is a good choice for displaying your videos?
The answer is a resounding yes — but you need to know a few things before you get started.
First, know that Squarespace supports embedding videos, but not uploading them directly to your site. This means that you will have to upload the video to another host first — say YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia. According to Squarespace, this “helps your site load faster, enables visitors to share your videos, and provides multiple options for video hosting.” Chances are, this won’t bother you but it’s still important to know this before you decide to start building your website. Which host you choose is then up to you, but if you use a template with background videos, you’ll have to use YouTube or Vimeo — not Animoto or Wistia.
You should also know that 360-degree videos aren’t supported at all by Squarespace — so if that’s what you want to show off on your site, you’re best going elsewhere. You can add videos to any editable blocks on Squarespace, as well as in gallery pages or on cover pages in some layouts — or templates. How the videos look and behave, though, depends on the template you choose. Some templates allow you to add background videos, which means they play behind page content, while others also support video banners at the top of the page. This is why it is so important to select the right template when you’re designing a site to show off your videos.
Because you can embed videos in most templates, picking the right template ultimately comes down to what you want to do with your site. For example, are you building a webpage to promote one large video project — like a documentary or film? If so, maybe a vertical-scrolling single-page site will fit your needs. Or are you looking to build a portfolio to show off a variety of work? If that’s the case, you’ll want to look for something that displays a range of your work, like a site with a mosaic grid.
To help make things a little easier for you, we’ve rounded up some of your best options on Squarespace. These are the best templates for videos on Squarespace.
Versatile and flexible • Index page
No sidebars
Whether you’re looking for a portfolio or a one-page site, Mercer has the versatility and wow-factor to be a videographer’s dream.
Mercer
Whether you’re looking for a portfolio or a one-page site, Mercer has the versatility and wow-factor to be a videographer’s dream. Supports single-page sites • Continuous scroll
Main navigation only displays on index pages when set as homepage
This template is a great choice for creating an immersive, one-page website to showcase your video project.
Horizon
With a sleek scrolling index page that stacks full-bleed banner videos consecutively, this template is a stunning way to display video clips.
The Horizon template works incredibly well for videographers looking to create an immersive experience to promote their project. This is because this template lends itself very well to creating a scrolling single-page website to draw the reader in.
It features a scrolling index page that stacks content like video and photos one on top of the other, so you can set that as your homepage to create one vertical-scrolling page. This works well if you’re building a site to promote one particular video project you’ve made, such as a feature film or documentary, because it helps create one continuous, interactive experience.
You can also loop a video on the main page with this template before entering the site to create a dramatic first impression. Because this template was designed with bands and concerts in mind, it’s easy to adjust the format to movie screenings with information about your film as well as a tour date widget to plug in details about upcoming screenings of your film.
It features a scrolling index page that stacks content like video and photos one on top of the other, so you can set that as your homepage to create one vertical-scrolling page. This works well if you’re building a site to promote one particular video project you’ve made, such as a feature film or documentary, because it helps create one continuous, interactive experience.
You can also loop a video on the main page with this template before entering the site to create a dramatic first impression. Because this template was designed with bands and concerts in mind, it’s easy to adjust the format to movie screenings with information about your film as well as a tour date widget to plug in details about upcoming screenings of your film.
Lightbox video player • Grid portfolio look • Sidebars
Doesn’t support banners • Less customisable design than other templates
If you’re a freelance videographer and you’re looking for a template to display your clips, Wexley is a solid choice.
Wexley
If you’re a freelance videographer and you’re looking for a template to display your clips, Wexley is a solid choice.
Galleries aren’t just for photography: with the Wexley template, galleries open in lightboxes, which is perfect for playing videos because it dims the page in the background and plays the video front and centre, giving the experience a cinematic feel.
The template displays the videos as a series of still photos in a clean, mosaic grid layout, allowing the visitor see the range of your work on one page — perfect for portfolios. It also features a heater to help users navigate to additional pages, such as your bio, blog, built-in social handles and contact form, turning your site into an interactive résumé that will help you promote your work and sell your services to potential clients.
The template displays the videos as a series of still photos in a clean, mosaic grid layout, allowing the visitor see the range of your work on one page — perfect for portfolios. It also features a heater to help users navigate to additional pages, such as your bio, blog, built-in social handles and contact form, turning your site into an interactive résumé that will help you promote your work and sell your services to potential clients.
Flexible and versatile • A nice mix of text and video • Index pages
No sidebar
A beautiful, flexible template that makes a great choice for journalists and documentarians.
Margot
A beautiful, flexible template that makes a great choice for journalists and documentarians.
Originally designed for photographers, the Margot template works equally well for videographers who are looking for a traditional website to display their work. In fact, it’s one of the best templates for videographers who want to display their clips alongside detailed write-ups, like journalists or documentarians looking to share additional context or reporting alongside their video.
This template is also a good choice for freelance video journalists because the template features a pop-up contact form that potential clients can use to get in touch with you about your work.
As a template in the Brine family, it’s also a very versatile template with a wide variety of customisations available — including a number of navigation options, style options, slideshow banners, and parallax scrolling.
This template is also a good choice for freelance video journalists because the template features a pop-up contact form that potential clients can use to get in touch with you about your work.
As a template in the Brine family, it’s also a very versatile template with a wide variety of customisations available — including a number of navigation options, style options, slideshow banners, and parallax scrolling.
Visually stunning • Dramatic
Limited flexibility • Works better with photography
This template works well for mixed-media artists looking for a showstopper website.
Ishimoto
With a full-bleed carousel, this template works well for mixed-media artists looking for a showstopper website.
With a full-bleed carousel slideshow format, it’s easy to assume that this template is meant for photographers, but videos will display in this horizontally-scrolling carousel too — meaning if you’re looking for a show-stopper website, this might be your choice.
Ishimoto could be the best option if you’re a mixed media artist looking to show off more than just video clips. It’s visually stunning and dramatic, which kind of makes up for the lack of flexibility.
Ishimoto could be the best option if you’re a mixed media artist looking to show off more than just video clips. It’s visually stunning and dramatic, which kind of makes up for the lack of flexibility.
Lightbox Effect • Grid-view • Project Pages
Limited flexibility
For a minimalist, immersive portfolio, York allows you the flexibility to create a video portfolio that stands out.
York
For a minimalist, immersive portfolio, York allows you the flexibility to create a video portfolio that stands out.
For a minimalist portfolio, York is a solid choice. Videos can be embedded either in standard slideshow format, in a grid, or in page banners.
What makes York truly stand out is the fact that you can build project pages, which are custom gallery views that mix text and imagery in creative ways. These project pages are different from gallery pages — another feature offered by this template — which put the focus on the video alone.
Project pages allow you to stack text and video, though, creating a page that visitors can scroll through vertically as they explore your video clips.
What makes York truly stand out is the fact that you can build project pages, which are custom gallery views that mix text and imagery in creative ways. These project pages are different from gallery pages — another feature offered by this template — which put the focus on the video alone.
Project pages allow you to stack text and video, though, creating a page that visitors can scroll through vertically as they explore your video clips.