Video Monetization

How to Create a Professional Video Website in 9 Steps

By Eden Metzler
11 Min Read

Learn More about Video Monetization

An image showing a content creator learning how to create a video website for his membership business.

If you’re a content creator thinking about creating your own video website, you’re on the right track.

Consumers are watching more video content each year. Statista reports online videos reach an astounding 92% of internet users. 

In 2022, US adults spent 157 minutes daily watching digital video alone. That number is expected to reach 184 minutes by 2026, surpassing traditional TV viewing time. 

Want to future-proof your creator business and earn a sustainable income? Here’s how to make a professional video website, with expert tips and examples.

How to create a video website

  1. Decide on the goal of your video website
  2. Choose a video platform
  3. Decide on a layout
  4. Upload your videos
  5. Add relevant pages
  6. Connect a payment system
  7. Add business tools
  8. Create an OTT app
  9. Preview, test, and launch your video website. 

1. Decide on the goal of your video website

A successful video website needs a goal: what are you trying to achieve? 

Creators often sell:

But that’s just a means to an end. Consider what you are going to sell through your video website. 

For example, you can sell a sense of belonging like Sarah Beth Yoga. Sarah Beth sells a growing library of yoga videos and a thriving community for members.

An image shows the video website of Sarah Beth Yoga.

Why focus on community? Well, a membership site with a community area sees a lower churn rate (6.06%) than those without one (10.46%).

You can also sell guidance or a promise. Elite Guitarist, for instance, promises that you’ll learn to play classical guitar with expert instructors.

An image shows the video website of Elite Guitarist.

What you decide to sell depends on your audience. Who will you plan to sell to? What do they value most? Answer those questions before thinking about video platforms and website design.

An image shows a pro tip for a video membership website.

2. Choose a video platform

Once you know who you’ll sell to, the next step is choosing the right video platform. A video platform helps you manage content, subscribers, and income all in one place. 

With a good video platform, you can focus on what you do best: creating great content. 

Uscreen is a membership site platform that lets you host your videos online. You can also customize your own video hosting website with intuitive design tools, saving you money over hiring a designer.

An image shows the homepage of Uscreen, a white-label video website seller.

With Uscreen, viewers get a great viewing experience. Users can binge on content and save time, thanks to the “Netflix style” category function.

Notice how Means TV, the first work-owned streaming service, lets viewers browse various programs easily.

An image shows the homepage of video website MeansTv.

Uscreen also provides:

  • A high-quality video player with media controls.
  • A complete suite of membership marketing tools.
  • The ability to schedule content releases.
  • A video CMS to upload, organize, and distribute videos. 
  • Video monetization options.
  • Live viewing experiences.

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing: $

Uscreen had the things that I wanted and needed as a creator. I felt like they understood me.

Sarah Beth, founder of Sarah Beth Yoga

It’s simple with Uscreen.

Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.

3. Decide on layout

Designing a website for your brand is an exciting opportunity to showcase your identity. Thanks to website templates, more than half (58%) of membership owners make their sites without an agency or designer. 

Uscreen helps get your own video website up and running fast with templates that make selling easy. They also have built-in features to showcase videos, live streaming, convert visitors, and sell memberships. 

Start by picking a theme from the Theme Library and adding it to your Library.

An image shows the themes library available to creators to customize their video website.

Then, customize the website in your Uscreen admin.

An image shows the themes library available to creators to customize their video website.

Uscreen’s website builder also lets you:

  • Add your own branding and design.
  • Customize all the pages of your website, code-free.
  • Add and edit code for more customization.
An image shows the themes library available to creators to customize their video website.

All you need to do is plug in your branding and videos. Then you have a beautiful, professional website that helps you stand out from the crowd. When designing, ensure your website looks and feels the same as your social media and YouTube accounts.

4. Upload your video

The next step is uploading your content to your video website.

Having content on your website before you customize it will provide a framework you can use to construct your website. You can see how Coreology Live expertly uses thumbnails, descriptions, and categories to showcase the content on their eLearning video site here:

An image shows the content layout of video website Coreology live.

Once your videos are uploaded, you need to optimize your content catalog. You can do this by creating intuitive categories, descriptive video titles, and eye-catching thumbnails for your videos.

Having your content displayed like this can provide a better user experience and provide context to your website. This will result in a higher conversion rate.

An image shows another pro tip for a video membership site.

5. Add relevant pages

Building a video website involves setting up different pages for visitors to explore. These pages are informative, engaging, and help convince people to consume your content. 

Some pages to add to your website include:

  • Homepage: Your homepage introduces visitors to your video website. It explains what you offer (see step 1) and convinces them to sign up. Make an excellent first impression by including homepage elements like an attractive hero image, a content catalog highlight, and customer testimonials. 
  • Video library. This page contains all the videos you have to offer. It gives viewers extra information like available playlists, video descriptions, watch times, and release dates.
  • Sign up page. This page gives viewers necessary information about pricing plans and packages. It also lets them sign up quickly and easily. 
  • About us. This page gives a short overview of your video subscription website and the mission behind your business. Create a page that tells your story and builds trust between you and visitors.
  • FAQ. Some creators also include a support page that answers viewers’ questions. Sarah Beth Yoga, for example, has a simple FAQ page that lists frequently asked questions with answers and the option for contacting support if needed.

The pages you include in your video website differ depending on your business. Birdietime, an exclusive video-on-demand (VOD) website that offers elite golf lessons, provides more specific pages about their coaching plans and how the membership works.

An image shows the homepage of the video website BirdieTime.

Notice how Birdietime uses link text like “Coaching Plans” and “Our Coaches” to help visitors find the information they need. Visitors can browse Birdietime’s video collection, and see more details about their coaches and pricing before committing to a plan. 

An image shows another pro tip for  a video membership site.

6. Connect a payment system

Before you launch a video website, you’ll have to connect it to a payment provider. This will let you provide customers with various payment options and help you get paid faster. 

You can choose between four payment providers with Uscreen:

  1. Stripe
  2. PayPal
  3. Uscreen Payments
  4. Authorize.net

Many creators connect to Stripe. But if Stripe isn’t available in your country, Uscreen Payments is a great alternative. 

Connecting a payment system is simple:

  1. From your Uscreen admin, click Settings
  2. Click Payment Providers.
  3. Choose a provider and review transaction fees.

Follow the prompts to connect your video site.

7. Add business tools 

As a creator, you’re used to doing things with a small team or independently. Sometimes, it’s good to have a little extra help to turn your video website into a salesperson. 

In addition to website templates and payment features, Uscreen offers a full suite of marketing tools to simplify managing your business.

An image shows the marketing tools for a video website.

In your admin under Marketing, you can find tools to:

  • Run giveaways.
  • Set up referral programs.
  • Create email campaigns.
  • Design subscription upsells.
  • Make coupons and gift cards. 
  • Send push notifications.

Uscreen also has several native integrations with third party apps to learn more about your customers and market to them. 

You can find these integrations under the Settings tab in your dashboard. Then click Integrations to connect with apps including, email marketing tools such as Mailchimp and Drip, Analytics, and performance tracking tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Hotjar, as well as social media platforms like Facebook, X, and more.

An image shows the software integrations available for video websites using Uscreen.

8. Launch your Over-The-Top (OTT) apps

OTT apps allow your customers to access your content on an app that’s specifically designed for users’ mobile devices, like:

  • Smartphones.
  • Smart TVs.
  • Tablets.

OTT apps are powerful for video creators. Our data shows that this popular video format can: 

  • Increase engagement by an average of 20%
  • Encourage more regular visitors by an average of 10x
  • Boost your customers by an average of 8x

Creating a video app was once tough. With an OTT platform provider like Uscreen, however, it’s simple. You can easily lease a white-labeled app with your own branding and content that’s uniquely yours.

An image shows the OTT video app of a video website.

Our developers will build you an app available for testing within 4 weeks on ioS, Android, AppleTV, AndroidTV, Roku, Amazon FireTV. Then you can launch it to your customers’s TVs and mobile devices, and celebrate ?

Having apps in addition to my membership site changed the game. The apps are the selling points. People now want to be able to access everything from their devices, whether it’s from their phone or their TV.

Sarah Beth, founder of Sarah Beth Yoga

LEARN: How to Create A Live Streaming App – The Ultimate Guide

9. Preview, test, and launch your video website

Creating a video website is just the beginning, not the end. Some items to check off before launch include:

  • Test your website and make sure your videos are presented nicely. 
  • Double check all your links and images work.
  • Send your video site to friends and family to get feedback. 

Plus, revisit your site regularly to add new content, update your brand identity, or announce new videos and products. 

Tips for making a successful video website

Whether it’s your first or fifth video website, here are some tips to keep in mind when building it:

  1. Offer a free trial. Having a free trial sign-up button on your homepage will give viewers a teaser of your content (and improve conversions. Some 52% of people who sign up for a free trial turn into long-term paying customers. 
  2. Get a good domain name. Your domain name is a digital address people will find you online. If you’ve already built a brand, you’ll want to get a domain name close to it so customers will remember you and find your business later on. If the “.com” version is taken, you can always find an alternative top-level domain (TLD) like .tv or .co.
  3. Add evidence and social proof. The conformity bias is the human need to do what other people are doing. Give evidence that others have selected your business as the best choice. This could be endorsements from influencers, customer testimonials, “As seen in…” media logos, and trust seals associated with any associations and awards. 
  4. Get your video marketing strategy ready. Have a plan to collect top funnel traffic from your YouTube channel, social media platforms, and search engines (SEO). Build your online presence and collect emails from interested people to promote your video membership site and earn more revenue. 
  5. Invest in good software and products for your new website. Once you create a video website, it’s hard to migrate out of it. Do your research before picking the right online tools, and find ones that will grow with you as you grow.

Expert Answers to Your Top Questions on Creating a Video Website

What are the key features to look for in a video website builder?

Key features include high-quality video playback, reliable hosting, analytics tools, monetization options (like subscriptions, pay-per-view), marketing tools, community features, and customer support. Look for platforms that offer customization to match your brand and the ability to scale your website and business as your audience grows.

How can I optimize my video website for search engines?

You can optimize your video website for search by using relevant keywords in video titles, and descriptions, leveraging category pages and content pages for keyword targeting and internal links. Implement structured data to help your videos appear in Google’s video search results. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and has fast loading times. Regularly update your site with high-quality content and secure backlinks to improve your site’s authority.

What’s the best way to monetize my video website?

Monetization strategies vary based on your content and audience. You can offer subscriptions, pay-per-view access, sponsored content, affiliate marketing, selling merchandise, and more. Start with defining your revenue goals and your audience’s preferences, to choose the most effective monetization method.

How do I ensure my video content is accessible to everyone?

Make your content accessible by including descriptive video titles and descriptions as well as captions and subtitles for users who have hearing difficulties. Offer transcripts and audio descriptions to assist users with visual impairments. Ensure your website’s design is navigable and accessible for people using screen readers or other assistive technologies.

Stand out as a creator with your own video website  

If you’ve followed this step-by-step guide, your new video-sharing website should be ready to go live. 

Uscreen offers the best value and on-demand browsing experience to your viewers. From branding and customization to live streams, a premium community, and code-free apps, you can get it all in one platform and grow your creator business.

It’s simple with Uscreen.

Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.