Outhouse › Annoyance › Screen and sound

Autoplaying media

Video or audio that starts before anyone asked for it.

Why it matters

Nobody has ever clicked play on a video advert. Autoplay removes that step. With the sound on, the visitor learns at once that the page is alive and has something to say, usually in an open-plan office.

Muted autoplay is accepted as a compromise. It still moves, it still counts as a view and it still uses the visitor's data allowance.

How Outhouse measures it

Outhouse checks every video and audio element. Playing with sound scores in full. Playing muted scores 60%.

This audit counts towards Annoyance, with a weight of 2. A category is 75% its two highest-scoring audits and 25% all of its audits, weighted, so a site is judged mostly on what it does most and partly on how many things it does.

How to improve your score

Install Outstream Video. Available on selected plans. See all products.

Related audits

• Screen covered by fixed elements: Headers, footers, bars and banners that stay on screen wherever the visitor scrolls.
• Layout shifting under you: Content that moves after the visitor has started reading or reaching for a button.
• Script bloat: Script loaded per word of content.