Pick your home base
Pick one place where the real video lives. Everything else just links to it.
Vimeo
Best for websites & professional sharing
- Create a free or Starter account at vimeo.com.
- Click New video → Upload and choose your full-quality MP4.
- While it uploads, set Privacy: Public (anyone can find it) · Unlisted / link-only (good for donor or internal videos) · Embed only (only plays on your website).
- Add a title and short description.
- To share: click Share → copy the link.
Set your Vimeo thumbnail
- Open the video → click Settings (or the pencil icon).
- Go to the General tab → find Thumbnail.
- Choose one: Select from video (drag to a frame you like) or Upload an image (best — a 1920×1080 JPG or PNG).
- Click Save. It can take a minute to refresh.
Embed a Vimeo video on your website
- Click Share on the video → click Embed.
- Copy the whole code block (it starts with
iframe).
- In your website editor, add an Embed or Custom HTML block where you want the video.
- Paste the code in and save/publish.
- If nothing shows up, set the video's privacy to Embed only or Public — "Private" blocks embeds.
- Not comfortable doing this? Email the embed code to your web person — that's all they need.
Why Vimeo: no ads, no "recommended videos" from strangers afterward, and you control exactly who sees it. This is the safest option for schools, camps, and organizations.
YouTube
Best for reach & free hosting
- Sign in with your organization's Google account (not a personal one).
- Click Create → Upload video.
- Set visibility: Public (searchable, shows up in Google) · Unlisted (link-only — most organizations use this) · Private (invited emails only).
- Add a title and a short description.
- Copy the link from the Share button.
Set your YouTube thumbnail
- Go to YouTube Studio → Content and click your video.
- Under Thumbnail, pick an auto-generated frame or click Upload file.
- Use a 1280×720 JPG or PNG, under 2 MB.
- Click Save.
- If "Upload file" is greyed out, verify your account with your phone number at youtube.com/verify and it unlocks.
Embed a YouTube video on your website
- On the video page, click Share → Embed.
- Copy the code (starts with
iframe).
- Paste it into an Embed or Custom HTML block on your site and publish.
- Visibility must be Public or Unlisted — "Private" videos won't embed.
💡
YouTube is free and unlimited, but viewers may see ads and unrelated videos afterward. Use Vimeo when that matters.
WhatsApp
Best for community sharing — but read this
WhatsApp compresses video hard. A beautiful film becomes blurry and the sound gets thin. Two ways to do it right:
1 · Share a link (recommended)
- Upload to Vimeo or YouTube first.
- Paste that link into WhatsApp. It shows a preview, plays in full quality, and works in any size group.
2 · Send the actual file
- Ask us for the WhatsApp version — we compress it properly so it still looks good.
- In WhatsApp, attach it as a Document (paperclip → Document) instead of a video. This stops WhatsApp from re-compressing it.
- Keep it under ~64 MB or it won't send at all.
Google Drive or Dropbox
Best for handing files to a third party
- Upload the file to a folder.
- Click Share and set access to Anyone with the link can view.
- Send the link.
⚠️
Drive and Dropbox are for transferring files. To show a video to an audience, use Vimeo or YouTube. Playback quality is lower and many people hit "you need permission" errors. Don't use these as your public link.
Playing at an event
No wifi? No problem
- Get the full-quality MP4 onto a USB drive — do not stream it from a link.
- Bring a backup copy on a second USB or a laptop.
- Test it on the actual venue equipment before guests arrive: picture, sound, and screen size.
- Confirm the venue can play MP4 and has audio hooked up.
