Which video-hosting service should you use to host your videos on your membership site?
It comes down to a matter of features, cost, download-protection and of course “personal preference”. I’ll go over the best video-hosting options for your WordPress membership site and break down what I like about each one.
1. Vimeo
Hands down my favorite option. Familiar, easy-to-use, tons of features. Pretty much everything you need, all at a convenient price.
- Video download protection
- Limit video embeds by domain
- Uploading features – easy to use, stores original file quality
- Multiple quality settings depending on user device/bandwidth
- Automatic CDN
2. Amazon S3 (with plugin)
- Cheapest price.
- Can be slow for far-away users if you don’t use Cloudfront.
- Can be cumbersome to use without a plugin if you add videos regularly.
- Can be very cheap/convenient when integrated with a plugin.
- Good download protection.
3. Wistia
- Most expensive – only recommended if you have very few videos and/or high dollar conversions.
- Tons of marketing and conversion-tracking features.
- Good download protection.
4. Youtube
- Cheapest (FREE) – no limits at all, upload as much as you want as often as you want.
- Almost no protection – easy to download or share with other users. Can be a good thing if you don’t mind your content being passed around.
- Used to have some handy editing abilities but not anymore.
5. 3rd-party membership service (Teachable/Kajabi)
I put this here because having an entirely different kind of solution is also an option in itself. They do solve your video hosting issues but force you to structure your business and user experience in a much different way. And depending on how you envision your business, you may or may not want them.
- They provide the whole website interface so you don’t have to have your own website…although you still can.
- Easy video management and protection.
- Pricey since you’re forced to pay a subscription service. Can be very pricey if you have many videos.
Hey Johnny,
Would you ever recommend hosting videos on your own server? Is it ever any faster than Youtube/Vimeo? I have a local business (tiny country, so no mass of visitors like on my English sites), and I’m creating a sales page for a product that outputs souvenir videos in special events (weddings, etc). I have a LOT of videos to upload though (i dont mind them getting stolen, free advertising, my brand is all over the videos). Would you use your own server (its a $10 a month Linode, 1-2% of the server bandwith is being used ^^) or use Youtube/Vimeo, and would you LazyLoad the videos? Thank you very much, as always.