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Embed not loading

Common reasons an embed fails to render and how to fix them.

Last updated: 2026-05-02

Embed problems usually come from the host page rather than VideoPlayer.ai. Walk through these in order.

The iframe is empty

Q: I pasted the iframe but the player does not render. What should I check?

A: Inspect the iframe in browser dev tools.

  • If the iframe has zero height, the page is missing a wrapper or the height attribute. Use the responsive wrapper.
  • If the iframe src is missing or wrong, fix the snippet. The slug must match exactly the slug shown in the dashboard.
  • If a Content Security Policy on the host page blocks the iframe, the browser console shows a CSP error. Add https://videoplayer.ai to the page's frame-src directive.

The lite script does nothing

Q: The lite script embed shows neither a poster nor a player. Why?

A: Three possibilities:

  • The script tag was stripped by your CMS rich-text editor. Use the iframe embed instead, or paste into a raw-HTML block.
  • A CSP on the host page blocks script-src. Allow https://videoplayer.ai in the page's script-src directive.
  • A network blocker is intercepting lite.js. Test in a private window with no extensions.

The embed shows a sign-in prompt

Q: The video is private or password-protected and the embed shows a prompt. Is that expected?

A: Yes. Embeds for non-public videos require viewer authentication. See embed private videos. Change the access level to public or unlisted if you want the embed to play without a prompt.

The embed says "video not available"

Q: My embed used to work but now it shows "video not available". What changed?

A: Most likely the video was deleted or its slug changed. Confirm both from the dashboard. If you deleted the video and want it back, you cannot recover it; re-upload from your local copy.

The embed is too narrow on mobile

Q: The iframe is fine on desktop but cuts off on phones. How do I fix it?

A: The bare iframe has a fixed width. Use the responsive wrapper so the iframe scales with its container.

The embed plays but the page jumps when it loads

Q: The page reflows when the player loads, jumping the layout. How do I avoid that?

A: Use the responsive wrapper with a fixed padding-top (or modern aspect-ratio). The wrapper reserves vertical space immediately so nothing jumps when the player swaps in.

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