# Full-screen video background slider

URL: https://gutenslider.org/full-screen-video-background/
Published: 2026-10-07
Updated: 2026-10-07

> Add a muted, looping video background behind your headline: from the Media Library or a YouTube link, with a poster image, an overlay, and tips for the file size and phones.

A video background brings movement to a hero or a section without a play button: a short, muted clip loops behind your headline. In Gutenslider any slide can have one, from the Media Library or from a link, in the free plugin.

The [video slider example](https://gutenslider.org/examples/#video): two clips, muted and looping, with fixed content on top.

### Add a video background

- Add the **Gutenslider** block and set it to full width; turn on ** Full screen height** in the Slides panel for a full-screen video.
- Select a slide and, in its **Background** settings, choose ** Video**.
- Pick a video from the Media Library. **Loop** and ** Muted** are on, and the video pauses when its slide is not shown.
- Add a **Poster image**: it shows until the video can play, and on connections that don’t load video.
- Set **Content** to *Same on all* and add your headline and button.

### Prepare the video file

- Keep it short: 10–20 seconds that loop without a visible jump.
- 1920 px wide is enough for a full-screen background; 1280 px is fine behind text with an overlay.
- Export as MP4 (H.264) without sound, at a moderate bitrate. 3–6 MB is a good target.
- Add an **overlay** (a dark color at 30–40 %) so white text stays readable on every frame.

### Videos from YouTube or a link

Instead of uploading, a slide can play a video from a link: YouTube videos and playlists, or a direct link to an .mp4, .webm or .mov file, in the free plugin. Pro adds YouTube channels, Vimeo, Dailymotion and TikTok. Players load only when their slide shows; YouTube plays from youtube-nocookie.com. See the [YouTube examples](https://gutenslider.org/examples/#youtube).

### On phones

Muted, inline videos autoplay on iOS and Android. Use the slide’s **Focal point** to keep the subject in view when the video is cropped to a portrait screen. If the video is mostly decoration, consider a [photo slider](https://gutenslider.org/wordpress-fullscreen-background-slider/) on phones instead: hide the video slider on phones with *Show the slider on*, and show a second, lighter slider there.