Boardwalk Section Guide

Split Content: Video Section

A two-column layout that pairs a video with text, images, or other content — perfect for product demos, brand storytelling, and feature highlights.

About

The Split Content: Video section is a two-column layout designed to showcase a video alongside supporting content such as text, buttons, or images. It's ideal for product demos, behind-the-scenes clips, brand stories, or any scenario where you want a video paired with a call to action.

This section works almost exactly like the Split Content: Image section. It shares the same layout options, column settings, and block types. The only difference is that it defaults to a Video block in the first column instead of an Image block. For a full overview of how the section works — including setup steps, section settings, and the available block types — please see the Split Content: Image guide.

Note: Everything covered in the Split Content: Image guide — including section settings, Group blocks, Image blocks, Image Reveal blocks, and mobile behavior — applies equally to this section. This article focuses specifically on the Video block and its settings.

How to Set Up Split Content: Video

Follow these steps to add and configure a Split Content: Video section in your Shopify store using the Boardwalk theme.

1
Open the Theme Editor

In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes, find Boardwalk, and click Customize. Navigate to the page where you want to add the section.

2
Add the Section

Click Add section in the Theme Editor sidebar, then search for and select Split content: Video. The section will appear with a default Video block and a Group block containing sample text.

3
Add Your Video

Click the Video block in the sidebar. Choose your video source — either upload a video file directly to Shopify, or paste a YouTube or Vimeo link. Configure the playback settings (autoplay, loop, controls) and choose your preferred aspect ratio.

4
Customize the Second Column

Click the Group block (or whichever block you'd like in the second column) and edit its content. Add headings, body text, buttons, or swap it for a different block type entirely.

5
Save and Preview

Click Save in the Theme Editor. Preview your page to check the video playback and layout on both desktop and mobile.

Video Block Settings

The Video block is a media player that supports Shopify-hosted video files as well as YouTube and Vimeo links. Below are all the settings available when you click on a Video block in the Theme Editor.

Video Block Settings
Video source

Choose how you want to provide the video. Select Upload to use a video file hosted on Shopify, or Link to paste a YouTube or Vimeo URL. The other settings in this block change depending on which source you choose.

Video

When the source is set to Upload, use this picker to select or upload a video file from your Shopify media library.

Video URL

When the source is set to Link, paste the full URL of a YouTube or Vimeo video here. Standard and shortened YouTube URLs are both supported (e.g., youtube.com/watch?v=... or youtu.be/...).

Color overlay

Applies a semi-transparent color layer on top of the video. Useful for tinting the video to match your brand colors or improving text readability when content overlaps the video. Supports transparency, so you can adjust the intensity.

Cover image

Displays a thumbnail image over the video when using a YouTube or Vimeo link. This is only available when the video source is set to Link. Upload a custom image to show before the video plays.

Aspect ratio

Controls the shape of the video player. Options: Widescreen (16:9), Landscape (4:3), or Square (1:1). Choose the ratio that best fits your video content and page layout.

Autoplay

When enabled, the video starts playing automatically when the page loads. Autoplay videos are always muted — this is a browser requirement and cannot be changed.

Loop

When enabled, the video replays continuously from the beginning after it finishes. Works well with autoplay for ambient or background-style videos.

Show controls

Displays the play/pause button, progress bar, volume, and other standard video controls. Turn this off for a cleaner, more cinematic look — especially when autoplay and loop are enabled. This setting applies to Shopify-hosted videos only; YouTube and Vimeo videos use their own built-in controls.

Accessibility description

A text description of the video's content for visitors using screen readers. This doesn't appear visually on the page but helps make your store more accessible. For example: "Behind-the-scenes video of our woodworking studio."

Shopify Admin Note: To upload a video file, go to Settings → Files in your Shopify admin and add your video there first. You can then select it from the video picker in the Theme Editor. Shopify supports .mp4 and .mov file formats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Modern browsers require videos to be muted in order to autoplay. The Boardwalk theme automatically mutes autoplay videos to comply with this requirement. If your video still doesn't autoplay, make sure the Autoplay setting is turned on in the Video block. For YouTube and Vimeo videos, some browser extensions or privacy settings can also block autoplay.
Yes. In the Video block settings, change the Video source to Link and paste your YouTube or Vimeo URL. Both standard and shortened YouTube URLs are supported. You can also add a custom cover image that appears as a thumbnail before the video plays.
They share the same layout, settings, and block types. The only difference is the default starting block — the Video variant starts with a Video block in the first column, while the Image variant starts with an Image block. You can always swap blocks after adding the section, so they are functionally interchangeable.
The Show controls setting only applies to Shopify-hosted videos. YouTube and Vimeo videos use their own built-in player controls, which are managed by those platforms. If you need full control over the video player appearance, consider uploading your video directly to Shopify instead.
The cover image displays as a thumbnail over the video area and is only available when using a YouTube or Vimeo link. It appears before the video plays, giving visitors a preview of the content. This option does not apply to Shopify-hosted videos, which generate their own preview frame automatically.