Internet videos have become a popular trend in the last several years, giving the world an opportunity to share ideas, information, and cool tidbits about anything from pop music to knitting stitches.

Now that video is viewable on mobile devices, users are taking advantage of this. At least 20% of video views come from mobile devices alone.

The popular video hosting site, YouTube, automatically converts their videos to suit the mobile format, but that doesn’t mean the actual content is easily converted, just the design.

So what’s the best way to optimize video for mobile devices?

A mobile screen is a lot smaller than a desktop computer screen, it’s important to consider size first of all. Using a lot of text in a video isn’t recommended for either, but do avoid small text that may be completely illegible on a mobile device. Of course, it depends on your content, but try to avoid using as much text as you can, and if it’s needed, make it big and clear so that viewers on all platforms can easily read.

Most videos are trying to advertise or market an idea or product, so make sure that you focus on what you’re talking about. Viewing video on mobile phone is very limiting, and it’s not possible to zoom into the video, so help everyone out and use zooming in your video so your viewers won’t have to strain. Focus on details and demonstrate what you’re talking about in the clearest way possible.

Audio is important, not just for mobile videos, but also for web videos. If you don’t have clear audio, then no one is going to understand what’s happening. Mobile phone speakers are limited, and even using headphones can be limiting. Test out audio before you upload it; try to make it as clear as possible. High quality is always better.

Mobile users are also more limited with their devices, cramming content in a small space and navigating using scrolling and just thumbs. Having useful links in the video description will make it easy for users to just push and browse, instead of having them type out a URL using their thumbs and consuming time. Mobile users are used to clicking link after link and browsing the web, so give them something they are already familiar with. Links are important for all users, and they should be included with every web video.

No matter what, it’s important to test out your video before you upload it. Test it on a mobile device and a desktop computer. See how the quality is on the small screen versus the large screen. Check the audio quality and the visibility of the text, do everything you can to make sure the video is optimized for mobile devices.

The world is quickly moving onto mobile devices, and they’re popping up everywhere, so everyone who isn’t a part of the fast movement, needs to adapt accordingly. You may not be a mobile user, but if you have content online, it needs to be optimized for mobile users. It’s not an extra hassle; it just makes everything convenient for everyone. Make sure your video content is optimized for mobile devices before you upload it onto the web!

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