{"id":1236,"date":"2021-04-25T07:15:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T07:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/resources\/?p=1236"},"modified":"2021-04-25T07:15:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T07:15:42","slug":"create-video-streaming-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/resources\/how-to\/create-video-streaming-website\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Video Streaming Website"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Video-on-demand and the live streaming market have soared in recent years. According to a recent study<\/a>, the industry is projected to reach $247,275 Million by 2027. Tech innovations, such as AI for cinematography and video editing and cloud-based solutions for video hosting have contributed to this growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, the increasingly high adoption rates of digital media across various industry verticals have increased the demand for high-quality streaming services and on-demand video content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can you tap into this incredibly lucrative market? The first step is to build your own video streaming website. This site will offer users the opportunity to broadcast their video content and enjoy content shared by other site users. You could also license content from producers and host shows. It all depends on your business model and how you want to monetize your website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, these websites can be complex and require significant front-end development and back-end architecture. Users need the assurance of a bug-free, seamless video streaming experience with the full range of features and user controls. The development required to enable this is beyond the scope of this article. Instead, we\u2019re going to focus on the layout and design of your video streaming website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although you will need to hire a developer for the back-end, the design and structure of your website can be done with no coding knowledge or investment. With Elementor and WordPress<\/a>, you can design a fully functional and cost-effective video streaming website. Elementor\u2019s features<\/a>, templates, and drag & drop editor<\/a> allow you to custom-design your very own video streaming website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to create an awesome video streaming website in WordPress and Elementor<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should a Video Streaming website include?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we begin with our guide to creating the site, we first need to understand the key ingredients of a video streaming website and its role. Here are some of the important pages and elements that every video streaming website needs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Homepage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The homepage<\/a> on a video streaming website acts as the lobby page. Here, you\u2019ll display your brand logo, and featured video content above the fold. Also, the homepage should display archive categories, such as recent, popular, personalized, and by genre, with a media carousel<\/a>, and links to the full category page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may want to design a standard homepage for default users, as well as a personalized version for logged-in members. Although this is more complex to develop, the added benefits to the users will help to ensure the success of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The homepage must also include a search bar<\/a>, with advanced filtering options to allow users to quickly locate their chosen video content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. User Onboarding & Profiles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For a video streaming site, you\u2019ll want users to create an account or profile on the site. Depending on your business model, this may also include payment processing<\/a>. The CTA<\/a> for users to create an account should be prominently displayed on the homepage, and in the navigation menus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signup page should include a user-friendly form<\/a>, a price list<\/a> (if relevant), live chat for customer support, and the full details of what a subscription entails and why users should create an account on your website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once created, users will have access to restricted content, and the ability to upload and manage their own content. For video upload, there are numerous features you could include, such as transferring video from their multiple devices, streaming content live from a webcam, launch live video events, import YouTube content, manage their media library, and view the analytics data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are practically unlimited ways to set this up on the site, but be aware that the more complex and feature-rich, the higher the development costs and risks of something going wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Video Categories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To ensure a seamless user experience, you must assign category tags to each uploaded and live-streamed video. This allows you to create category archives, so users can find the specific genre they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For improved UX, consider adding user reviews<\/a>, star ratings<\/a>, a brief description of the content, and social sharing buttons<\/a> alongside each hosted video. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Video Streaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to playing the videos themselves, there are a lot of different features and functionality you should consider. You can have the videos open in an embedded frame, or host each one separately on their own landing page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other features to consider include download options, pause and playback, geo-restrictions, screenshot bans, sound settings, subtitles, and mobile responsiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: <\/strong>The more functionality you add and the more complex the website becomes and the more time and funds you need to allocate for your video streaming website\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. About Page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The about page<\/a> should explain who is behind the site, why it was created, and who it\u2019s for. Here, you can discuss your expertise and the unique selling points of your platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Create a Video Streaming Website \u2014 A Step-by-Step Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Choose your domain name<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you set out to create your own website, the first thing you need to do is get a domain name and a web hosting service. Your domain name will allow visitors to access your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Choose your web hosting plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The hosting plan will allow you to house all the files that make up your site. Your hosting server is where you will install WordPress and the add-ons mentioned in this tutorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s great about WordPress hosting<\/a> is that it’s optimized specifically for WordPress performance, security needs, installation, and onboarding processes. There is a long list of WordPress hosts<\/a> to choose from, and many considerations to factor into your selection process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as hosting plans go, they range from affordable shared hosting plans to more expensive managed WordPress hosting and premium dedicated servers. To make your lives easier, we recommend several hosting packages<\/a> that are fully compatible with Elementor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve signed up for your hosting plan, you will receive a welcome email that will have all the details related to your account. Find the login link to your hosting account area and use the username and password to log into your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Install WordPress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next step is to install WordPress<\/a>. <\/strong>After you have logged in to your hosting account, click on the My Accounts tab and then log in to your cPanel. In cPanel, click on the WordPress icon in the auto-installers area and follow the steps to install WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After WordPress has been installed, go ahead and visit your WordPress site. Enter the name and password you\u2019ve set up and click \u2018Log In\u2019 to access your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Textual link) See our full guide on how to install WordPress here: How to Install WordPress<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve downloaded and installed the WordPress software, you can take advantage of the WordPress CMS platform. The flexibility of WordPress lets you choose from tens of thousands of WordPress templates, themes, and plugins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Install Elementor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next step is to install Elementor, a visual website builder that greatly simplifies the WordPress website building process. Sometimes, WordPress can be an intimidating tool that seems too complex to use on your own. However, by using a visual site builder, you can create your site quickly, efficiently, and comfortably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New. Search for Elementor Website Builder and click Install. When Elementor has been installed, click Activate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Elementor is free, depending on the features you want you\u2019ll also need Elementor Pro<\/a> to take full advantage of Elementor\u2019s capabilities. Visit Elementor.com and purchase the Pro version of the plugin then install and activate it in the same manner as above. Once Elementor Pro<\/a> has been installed, you\u2019ll need to enter your license by going to your WordPress dashboard and navigating to Elementor > License.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you\u2019re going to be using Elementor Theme Builder<\/a> and your template kit to design your entire website, you don\u2019t need to look for any design elements in your active WordPress theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, you just want the most lightweight, performance-optimized foundation, which is what the Hello theme from Elementor<\/a> provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get started, go to Appearance \u2192 Themes \u2192 Add New and search for \u201cHello Elementor\u201d. Then, install and activate the theme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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