Video Hosting for HTML Sites: One Script, Full CDN
The HTML5 <video> tag gives you a player — not a video platform. SmartVideo is a drop-in replacement that adds global CDN delivery, adaptive streaming, and analytics to any HTML page. One async script tag, zero framework dependencies.
14-day free trial · from $19/mo · Card required, no charge until day 15
Why the HTML5 <video> Tag Isn’t Enough
No CDN, No Adaptive Streaming
The native <video> tag serves a single file from your server. No edge caching, no bitrate adaptation, no HLS. Visitors on slow connections get buffering; visitors far from your server get latency.
Self-Hosting Burns Bandwidth
A 100 MB video viewed 1,000 times uses 100 GB of transfer. On shared hosting, that triggers overage fees. On a VPS, it saturates your pipe. Either way, your hosting bill pays the price.
Building a Player Is a Rabbit Hole
HLS manifests, DASH segments, DRM, mobile quirks, fullscreen APIs, accessibility — building a production video player from scratch takes months. YouTube/Vimeo embeds solve it but add a heavy bundle of bloat and third-party tracking.
How SmartVideo Solves Video on HTML Sites
Drop-in <video> Replacement
Swap <video> for <smartvideo> — same attributes, same behavior. src, controls, poster, autoplay, muted, loop all work exactly as expected. No wrapper divs, no config objects, no build step. See the integration guide →
Reliable Video Delivery from Our Own Edge Network
Every video is served from the nearest edge location to each viewer. Reliable delivery worldwide, zero bandwidth cost on your origin server. Works whether you host on Netlify, Vercel, S3, bare metal, or shared hosting.
Automatic HLS Adaptive Streaming
Upload once — SmartVideo handles encoding into multiple bitrates and serves the right quality for each connection. No ffmpeg, no encoding pipeline, no HLS manifest wrangling. Adaptive streaming just works.
One Async Script — No Dependencies
A single <script async> tag in your <head>. No npm packages, no bundler plugins, no framework integration layer. Works in plain HTML files, static site generators (Hugo, Jekyll, 11ty), and hand-coded sites alike.
JavaScript API for Custom Control
Need programmatic control? The SmartVideo player exposes a clean JS API for play, pause, seek, volume, and event listeners. Build custom UIs, trigger actions on video milestones, or integrate with your analytics stack.
A sample video in the live SmartVideo player — no branding, no related videos, no logo in the corner.
See it on an HTML page →Three Steps to CDN-Accelerated Video
- 1
Add the Script to <head>
Copy the one-line async script from your SmartVideo dashboard and paste it into your HTML <head>.
- 2
Replace <video> with <smartvideo>
Same attributes —
src,controls,poster,autoplay,muted,loop. Just change the tag name. - 3
Deploy
Push to your hosting provider. Videos are CDN-accelerated with adaptive streaming — no server config needed.
How SmartVideo Compares
| Feature | HTML5 <video> | YouTube Embed | SmartVideo |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDN delivery | None (your server) | Google CDN | Own edge network |
| Adaptive streaming | None | Yes (proprietary) | HLS, automatic |
| Embed weight | ~0 KB (native) | Heavy | Lightweight |
| Third-party tracking | None | Extensive | None |
| Bandwidth cost | Your server pays | Free (ad-supported) | Included in plan |
| Ads & branding | None | Ads + YouTube logo | None |
| Analytics | None built-in | YouTube Analytics | Built-in dashboard |
| Integration | Native | iframe | Custom element (same API) |
| Starting price | Free + hosting costs | Free (with ads) | $19/mo |
Works Everywhere HTML Runs
Static HTML Sites
Hand-coded sites, portfolios, landing pages — add one script and swap your video tags.
Static Site Generators
Hugo, Jekyll, 11ty, Astro, Gatsby — works with any SSG that outputs HTML. No plugin needed.
React / Vue / Svelte
Use the <smartvideo> custom element inside any framework component. No wrapper library required.
Netlify / Vercel / S3
Deploy static files anywhere. SmartVideo handles video delivery — your hosting bill stays flat.
VPS / Bare Metal
Running your own server? Offload video bandwidth to SmartVideo’s CDN. Keep your pipe for app traffic.
Shared Hosting
Bandwidth-limited hosting? SmartVideo delivers video from its CDN — your host only serves HTML and CSS.
Your Videos Deserve Infrastructure
Stop self-hosting video files or leaking visitors to YouTube. SmartVideo gives any HTML site adaptive HLS streaming off a global CDN — in three minutes.
Start your free trial“We’ve had a 10% increase in conversion rate from lead to customer.”
“SmartVideo loaded immediately; YouTube took 5 seconds to start. It became a no-brainer.”
“Our search-engine rankings went up after we switched over to Swarmify.”
Built for Developers Who Take Video Seriously
More than 150 million video plays a year run through SmartVideo.
- 6 yearsin production with lightning-fast support
“We have been using it for 6 years now and rarely had any issues. If any arose support was lightning fast and efficient. They are also constantly working on improvements and updates.”
- Quickreduced load times on client websites
“We use Swarmify on client websites to reduce the load time of their YouTube videos. You still host the video on Youtube but use the Swarmify player to encode and playback the video. It’s so quick!”
- Ferrarimakes YouTube embeds look like a Model T
“I've honestly NEVER seen video play this fast on the web before. … Swarmify makes YT look like a Model T ford racing a Ferrari.”
- Supportwent above and beyond to troubleshoot
“James from Customer Support was awesome. On multiple occasions, he went above and beyond to help troubleshoot and fix my issues.”
“SmartVideo loaded immediately; meanwhile, YouTube took 5 seconds to start playing. SmartVideo immediately became a no-brainer.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Get in touch or browse the help center.
Is SmartVideo a drop-in replacement for HTML5 <video>?
Yes. Replace your <video> tag with <smartvideo> — all standard attributes (src, controls, poster, autoplay, muted, loop) work identically. The SmartVideo script registers a custom element that behaves like native video but delivers via CDN with adaptive streaming.
Does it work with my existing hosting provider?
Yes. SmartVideo works with any hosting — Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, S3, DigitalOcean, shared hosting, bare metal. Your server only needs to serve the HTML page; SmartVideo’s CDN handles all video delivery.
Do I need to re-encode my videos?
No. Upload your existing MP4, WebM, or MOV files to SmartVideo. We handle transcoding into multiple bitrates for adaptive streaming automatically — no ffmpeg, no encoding pipeline on your end.
Can I use it with React, Vue, Svelte, or static site generators?
Yes. The <smartvideo> tag is a web component (custom element). It works in any framework that renders HTML — React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Astro, Hugo, Jekyll, 11ty, or plain HTML. No framework-specific wrapper library needed.
What about videos I already have as MP4 files?
You can either upload them to the SmartVideo library for full CDN hosting, or point the <smartvideo> tag at your existing MP4 URL — SmartVideo will still provide its optimized player and delivery. For best results (adaptive streaming, multiple bitrates), upload to the library.
How does adaptive streaming work without server-side encoding?
When you upload a video, SmartVideo’s cloud infrastructure transcodes it into multiple quality levels (e.g., 360p, 720p, 1080p) and generates HLS manifests. The player then automatically selects the best quality for each viewer’s connection speed — no server-side setup required from you.
Is there a JavaScript API for custom player controls?
Yes. The SmartVideo player exposes methods like play(), pause(), seek(), and properties like currentTime, duration, volume. You can also listen for events (play, pause, ended, timeupdate) to build custom UI or trigger actions at video milestones.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every plan comes with a 14-day free trial. A credit card is required to start, but you are not charged until day 15 — cancel before the trial ends and you will not be charged.
Keep your existing markup — one script tag upgrades plain <video> elements to HLS adaptive streaming off our own global edge network. No build step, no framework lock-in: ships the same on static HTML, Jamstack, React, or any host.
Add Video Infrastructure to Any HTML Site
One script tag. CDN delivery. Adaptive streaming. No server costs, no third-party tracking, no build step.
Start your free trial 14-day free trial · Card required, no charge until day 15