How to use Video or Embed blocks

A Video block lets you add video media to your page. You can:

  • upload a video you have made yourself (using a Video block)
  • upload a video hosted elsewhere, for example, YouTube (using an Embed block) 

How to use a Video or Embed block

You need to add a transcript link and captions for any videos you add to your site to meet accessibility guidelines. Find out more about how to make videos accessible.

You will need to add captions to your own videos, but those uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo will already include captions.

You can add a link to YouTube or Vimeo video using other blocks (for example, the Video block, the YouTube block or the Vimeo block). However, you need to use the Embed block for the video to have captions (Video 1).

Video 1: a video showing how to ‘Check your state pension’ on GOV.UK. Once you press play there is an option to show captions on the bottom menu.

How to add a Video block

To add an Video block to your page:

  1. Click the plus (‘+’) button to add a block to your page.
  2. Type ‘video’.
  3. Click the ‘Video’ option.
  4. Click ‘Upload’ to add your own video to the site.
  5. Click ‘Insert from URL’ to add a link to a video 
  6. Click ‘Add caption’ beneath the video .
  7. Type a description of what the video shows.
  8. Type ‘Link to a transcript of the video’.
  9. Select this text then click ‘Link’ from the contextual menu.
  10. Add the link to the transcript page on your site.

How to add an Embed block

To add an Embed block to your page:

  1. Click the plus (‘+’) button to add a block to your page.
  2. Type ‘embed’.
  3. Click the ‘Embed’ option.
  4. Click ‘Upload’ to add your own video to the site.
  5. Click ‘Insert from URL’ to add a link to a video (if you use a YouTube or Vimeo link this will change to an Embed block). 
  6. Click ‘Add caption’ beneath the video .
  7. Type a description of what the video shows.
  8. Type ‘Link to a transcript of the video’.
  9. Select this text then click ‘Link’ from the contextual menu.
  10. Add the link to the transcript page on your site.

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