Videos have become the beating heart of marketing these days and many agencies and businesses want to have them on their websites to grab the user’s attention, keep them engaged, and finally boost sales or leads.
But one of the gross mistakes they often tend to make in the first place is self-hosting their videos. And though it might look like a cost-saving option, it has so many complexities that can kill your security features and video quality.
So, in this post, I will take you through some of the top reasons that explain why self-hosting is a rookie mistake and why you should opt for a professional video hosting service.
5 Major Problems With Self-hosting Your Videos
Now let us see the top issues that might arise when you host videos on your own and how it can severely impact your site’s functionality and brand reputation.
1. Technical Challenges
Surely, it’s not as simple as it sounds! Self-hosting is far too technical, and unless you are a web wizard, you will face many problems that might lower the quality and performance of your videos.
Hosting does not just mean uploading files. One has to set up and maintain a network of servers, optimize videos to play on several formats, take more storage for producing high-quality videos, and ensure the uptime is consistent even if multiple viewers stream your content at the same time.
And, if your website is not optimized to meet the above, I bet you will find yourself digging with buffering issues, slow load times, poor quality, and technical glitches. Thus, you will have less time to grow your business and will experience a drop in SEO rankings.
2. Self-hosting Is Way Expensive That It Seems
You might think that it is a pocket-friendly option. You already have a webpage so why not host videos by yourself? But let me tell you that the sneaky cost factor comes in here.
This could be because you will have to invest in storage, bandwidth, upgrades, and IT professional support to manage all these. And if your videos’ traffic increases, expect additional costs or system crashes that will surely make you pay plenty for repairs.
This is not the case with video hosting services, as they offer scalable solutions with the best pricing and cover bandwidth, storage, and advanced features.
3. Increased Bandwidth Consumption
In case you do not know, video files are usually large and require plenty of storage space. Imagine you have an extensive video library of the highest quality then, you would need more storage space.
Also, if multiple viewers are streaming your content at the same time, your bandwidth will be stretched and your web pages will load slowly resulting in a horrifying viewing experience.
In worst-case scenarios, your web page can even be suspended if your bandwidth exceeds a specific limit.
4. Difficult To Handle Security Risks
The idea with self-hosting videos is that you are creating many security issues and allowing hackers and third-party intrusions to easily access your site and content. Dealing with the security of your video content is an entirely different ball game that requires you to put stringent security protocols in place.
This does not mean you just need to install antivirus software and be free from cyber attacks. Rather, you should try to use strong passwords, domain locks, backup and recovery, two-factor authentication, and encryption mechanisms to keep the data safe and sound.
5. Video Player Issues
Let us assume for a moment that you have made the decision to host videos in-house rather than using a hosting platform. In that case, you must use a highly efficient video player that can work across multiple platforms, devices, and browsers.
To make it compatible, you will either need to install a player on your site and configure it to provide the right file size for each viewer or write your own custom code to manage your files in WordPress.
Either way, it is technical, complicated, and time-consuming, so perhaps you should want to drop that thought.
Video Hosting Services – The Only Solution For All Self Hosting Issues
Want a solution for this problem? Use a reliable and the most powerful video hosting platform, because they are engineered to handle any level of complexity that could come with regards to video storage, bandwidth, security, and playback.
And it is not just the convenience these hosting platforms give to businesses or creators, but a lot of other benefits that self-hosting just cannot match such as
1. Customization and branding
2. Advanced Analytics
3. Great scalability
4. Faster load times
5. Embed video links
6. Hosting ad-free content
7. Reliable uptime
8. Support for video formats
9. Live relays
Do Not Let Self-hosting Hold Your Content Back
First things first, self-hosting might sound like an easy choice, but trust me, it is a slippery slope to technical glitches, security setbacks, and skyrocketing costs that should hamper the user experience.
So, the smart way would be to use a video hosting service that you know for doing the tough job while you focus on creating great content, which you are good at.