Outcome
Authors share videos and readers watch them with the same instant experience as in Instagram Gabo H Beaumont on SHM Homepage should be powered by SHM
User Stories
As a site owner, I want videos to behave like subtle animations on my homepage so that I can create a more dynamic and modern experience without distracting controls.
Overview
The homepage includes looping videos that play automatically without sound or visible playback controls. This behavior is currently not supported in SHM, but it is conceptually simple to implement.
This project aims to introduce a flexible and scalable way to support autoplaying, looping, and minimal UI video experiences within SHM.
Problem
SHM video blocks currently require explicit playback.
The homepage design depends on:
Silent autoplay
Continuous looping
No visible controls
There is no current abstraction for this behavior.
Goals
Enable video blocks to behave like lightweight background animations.
Provide simple configuration for autoplay experiences.
Maintain good UX (e.g., avoid autoplay with sound).
Proposed Solution
Add an options panel to video blocks with the following toggles:
Autoplay
Video starts automatically on load.
Must be muted by default (autoplay with sound is poor UX).
Loop
Video restarts automatically when it ends.
Hide Controls
Removes all playback UI.
Videos should have an easy button to turn audio on.
This approach is:
Flexible
Composable
Clear to users
Summary
This project introduces a small but powerful extension to video blocks, enabling SHM to support modern, animation-like video usage while keeping the system flexible and scalable.
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