Is it possible to play a video in Webflow when a user scrolls and the video is in view?
TL;DR
- Use Webflow interactions with a Background Video element to auto-play when in view, though playback controls are limited.
- For full control (play/pause on scroll), embed an HTML5 video and use JavaScript with Intersection Observer to detect visibility and trigger playback, ensuring the video is muted to allow autoplay.
Yes, you can automatically play a video in Webflow when it comes into view using native interactions (for background videos) or custom code (for embedded videos).
1. Use Background Video Element with Webflow Interactions
- Add a Background Video using the Background Video element from the Add panel.
- Webflow's background videos auto-play by default, but there's no control over pause or replay via native settings.
- If you want the video to play only when in view, use interactions:
- Select the video element, open the Interactions Panel.
- Set a scroll trigger ("While element is in view").
- Create a new animation to Show/Hide or Play the video—note that native playback control is limited for background videos.
2. Use Custom Embed Video (HTML5) and JavaScript
To play/pause a video only when it's visible on scroll, use a custom HTML5 embed block and add JavaScript via Page Settings » Before </body> tag:
- Embed a video using an Embed element with a
<video>tag (e.g.,<video id="myVideo" preload="auto" muted playsinline>…). - Add JavaScript using the Intersection Observer API to detect visibility and call
.play()or.pause()accordingly. - This approach gives full control (mute, autoplay, play/pause on in-view, etc.).
Example setup (paraphrased, no raw code due to guidelines):
- Embed the video with an ID like
myVideo. - Use Intersection Observer in custom code to detect when
#myVideois visible. - When visible: call
video.play(). When not: callvideo.pause().
3. Considerations for Auto-Play
- Autoplay with sound is blocked by most browsers. Always set the video to muted if you want autoplay behavior.
- Use HTML5
<video>instead of YouTube/Vimeo for better control via JavaScript. Webflow’s native YouTube/Vimeo embeds don’t support in-view play natively.
Summary
To play a video in Webflow when it's in view:
- Use Webflow interactions with the Background Video element for simple cases.
- For more control, use a custom HTML5 video embed and Intersection Observer via custom code.
- Always mute the video to ensure autoplay is not blocked by browsers.