Everything you need to add and customize the Video block — from uploading your own videos and embedding YouTube or Vimeo links to configuring playback options, cover images, and accessibility descriptions.
A Video block lets you embed a video directly into any section of your store that supports blocks. Videos are a powerful way to showcase your products in action, share brand stories, or add visual movement to your pages.
In the Boardwalk theme, the Video block supports three video sources: files uploaded directly to Shopify, YouTube links, and Vimeo links. You can control the aspect ratio, autoplay and loop behavior, playback controls, and add a color overlay. For YouTube and Vimeo videos, you can also set a custom cover image that displays before the video plays. The block includes an accessibility setting so you can describe the video content for screen readers.
Follow these steps to add a video to any page of your Shopify store using the Boardwalk theme.
In your Shopify admin, go to
Online Store → Themes, find Boardwalk,
and click Customize. Navigate to the
page where you want to add a video using the page
selector dropdown at the top center of the editor.
Find the section where you want the video to appear and click Add block. Choose Video from the block list. A placeholder will appear in the preview until you add your video.
In the block settings, set the
Source to either
Upload or Link. If you
choose Upload, use the video picker to select a file
you've uploaded to your Shopify admin. If you choose
Link, paste a YouTube or Vimeo URL into the
Video URL field.
Note: To upload videos to Shopify,
go to Content → Files in your
Shopify admin and upload your video file there first.
It will then be available to select in the theme
editor.
Set your preferred aspect ratio, and choose whether the video should autoplay, loop, or show playback controls. If you'd like a color overlay on top of the video, pick a color using the overlay setting.
If you're using a YouTube or Vimeo link, you can upload a cover image that displays as a thumbnail over the video. This is useful for controlling the first impression before the video starts playing. Uploaded Shopify videos use an automatically generated poster image instead.
Under the Accessibility heading, enter a short description of the video content. This text is read aloud by screen readers, helping visually impaired visitors understand what the video shows.
Click Save in the Theme Editor. Preview your page to verify the video displays correctly and playback behaves as expected.
These settings are available when you click on a Video block in the Theme Editor sidebar. They control the video source, appearance, playback, and accessibility.
Determines where the video comes from. Choose
Upload to use a video file you've
uploaded to Shopify, or Link to embed a
YouTube or Vimeo video by URL.
Select a video file from your Shopify media library.
This setting only appears when the source is set to
Upload. Uploaded videos are
automatically muted.
Paste a YouTube or Vimeo URL to embed an external
video. This setting only appears when the source is
set to Link. The video is automatically
muted when autoplay is enabled.
Adds a color layer on top of the video. Supports transparency, so you can create a subtle tint or a strong color wash over the video. Useful for improving text readability when placing content over a video background.
Upload a thumbnail image that displays over the
video. This setting only appears when the source is
set to Link. Uploaded Shopify videos
use an automatically generated poster image instead.
Controls the shape of the video player. Options:
Widescreen (16:9),
Landscape (4:3), or
Square (1:1).
When enabled, the video starts playing automatically as soon as it loads on the page. Autoplay videos are always muted — this is a browser requirement and cannot be changed.
When enabled, the video restarts from the beginning each time it reaches the end. This is ideal for short background videos or product demos that you want to play continuously.
Displays the play, pause, volume, and progress bar controls on the video player. When turned off, the video plays without any visible controls. This setting applies to uploaded Shopify videos.
A text description of the video content, used for accessibility. This text is read aloud by screen readers so visually impaired visitors can understand what the video shows. Found under the Accessibility heading in the block settings.
The Video block supports three types of video sources. Each has slightly different capabilities depending on the platform.
Videos uploaded directly to your Shopify media library
(Content → Files in the Shopify
admin). These videos are served from Shopify's CDN
and support autoplay, loop, and show/hide controls.
Uploaded videos are always muted automatically.
Embed any public YouTube video by pasting its URL.
Supported URL formats include standard watch links
(youtube.com/watch?v=...) and short links
(youtu.be/...).
Embed any public Vimeo video by pasting its URL
(vimeo.com/...).
Note: YouTube and Vimeo videos are embedded using iframes, which means playback controls are managed by the external platform. The Show controls setting in the block only applies to uploaded Shopify videos.
The Video block includes features that work automatically — no apps or custom code needed.
Use videos from Shopify's media library, YouTube, or Vimeo — all from the same block. Simply switch the source setting and provide your video file or URL.
Choose from widescreen (16:9), landscape (4:3), or square (1:1) aspect ratios. The video scales to fill the chosen shape while maintaining its proportions across all screen sizes.
Set videos to play automatically and loop continuously. This is useful for creating ambient background videos or short product clips that repeat seamlessly. Autoplay videos are always muted to comply with browser requirements.
Add a semi-transparent color layer on top of the video. This can help match the video to your brand colors, improve text readability when overlaying content, or create a tinted visual effect.
For YouTube and Vimeo videos, upload a custom cover image that displays over the embedded video. This lets you control the visual appearance before playback begins.
Add a text description that screen readers announce to visually impaired visitors. For uploaded videos, this sets an accessible label on the video container. For YouTube and Vimeo embeds, it sets the iframe title attribute.