How to Use Video for User Onboarding

The Problem

Product teams embed onboarding videos in their app to reduce time-to-value for new users. YouTube is the lazy default, but it injects ads, shows your competitor's content in suggestions, displays the YouTube logo inside your product, and adds page weight that slows down the onboarding experience. Mux is the developer-friendly option but requires engineering effort to build a UI and charges $200/mo for custom domains. Wistia's per-video pricing makes it expensive when you have dozens of onboarding modules. None of these options let a product team move fast without engineering support.

What You Need

• A white-label player that looks native to your product — no external branding
• Custom domain so video URLs match your app domain
• Completion tracking per video to understand onboarding funnel drop-off
• URL-parameter-based configuration so product managers can tweak without code changes
• Raw HLS URLs available for teams that want to use their own player

How to Do It with host.video

Step 1: Upload onboarding videos

Upload product walkthroughs, feature tours, and getting-started guides. Auto-generated chapters help users navigate to specific features.

Step 2: Set up your custom domain

Point video.yourapp.com to host.video. Auto-SSL included. All embeds now serve from your domain.

Step 3: Embed in your product

Use the iframe embed in your onboarding flow, or use the raw .m3u8 HLS URL with your own player (video.js, Vidstack, react-player). Customize behavior via URL parameters.

Step 4: Optimize the funnel

Track completion rates per onboarding video. Identify where new users drop off and iterate on the content. No client-side analytics scripts needed.

Why This Matters

Onboarding determines whether new users become active users or churn in the first week. Video is the most effective medium for showing complex product features, but it has to feel like part of the product. A white-label player with your domain, no external branding, and completion tracking turns onboarding video into an optimizable funnel step instead of a static afterthought.

Alternatives

YouTube embeds are free but show ads, branding, and suggested content inside your product. Mux is developer-friendly but requires engineering to build a UI and custom domains cost $200/mo extra. Wistia charges per video with a steep pricing curve. Building a custom pipeline on AWS is possible but requires months of engineering.