Running client video without hosting it yourself
Keep the video in one platform account you control, embed it into each client site with domain-locked embeds, and report from per-video retention and lead numbers. Client hosting then serves no video bytes, a client site redesign cannot break the player, and handover is a matter of moving one account rather than migrating files.
The problem with per-client hosting
Video uploaded into each client's WordPress means: their bandwidth, their upload limits, their backups, and a separate blind spot per site. You cannot answer "which video works" across a portfolio, and every new site starts from zero.
The workflow that scales
- One account, projects per client. Videos grouped by client, so a handover is a scoped export rather than an archaeology exercise.
- Domain-locked embeds per client site, wildcards for staging (
*.staging.example.com). A leaked embed code plays nowhere else. - Unbranded player on paid plans, styled to each client's accent colour and radius — the player reads as theirs, not as a vendor widget or yours.
- The WordPress plugin per site, with one API key each so you can revoke a single site without touching the others.
- Reporting from per-video analytics — plays, retention, CTA click-through and leads — which is the artefact clients actually value at the monthly call.
What this costs
Agency is $29/month or $290/year for unlimited plays and unlimited videos, with no overage and no bandwidth meter. For most agency portfolios that is a rounding error against a single client's monthly retainer, and it is a simple number you can quote in a proposal.
Handover
Decide the story before you sign: either the client gets their own account and you rebuild the embeds there, or the videos stay with you as a service. Both are legitimate; the failure mode is not deciding, and discovering the question at the end of the engagement.
What to promise clients
- No video bytes on their hosting.
- Consistent playback on any platform they later migrate to — the embed is plain HTML.
- Retention and lead numbers per video, monthly.
- No promises about search or AI visibility. See AI search and video for why guarantees in this area are not honest.
Frequently asked questions
Can one account serve several client sites?
Yes. Group videos per client, domain-lock each embed to that client’s hostnames, and use a separate API key per WordPress site so any one site can be revoked alone.