How To Make a VTT File

80% of businesses are turning to video creation. And that is why YouTube is the second largest search engine after its parent company.

But with so many businesses turning to video creation, you will need a way to stand out. Grab your viewers' attention and run with it.

You are going to need captions and subtitles. And that means you have to make a VTT file (or another subtitle format).

It can sound rather daunting and time-consuming, but in this piece, we are going to share with you a step-by-step guide to help you create a VTT file in a short amount of time.

What is a VTT File?

The VTT file which is a shortened version of WebVTT is a subtitle file format. Created by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group in 2010, the VTT file formats are text-based files often included in videos for the purpose of captioning.

In its early days, WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks) was largely dependent on the SRT format. It was created based on SRT files and was even referred to as the WebSRT; with the extension .srt.

But with time, WebVTT built on its format and became better optimized for HTML5 functioning than its predecessor SRT.

Why are Subtitles and Captions Important?

Adding captions to your video file will not only help you engage with your audience, but they will also help you reach a wider market, and possibly position your company as inclusive.

Here are a few ways captioning your HTML5 video can help your brand:

Engagement

For any business, engagement is a top priority, especially when 82% of traffic comes from videos.

Statistics show that videos with either captions or subtitles receive 12 times more shares. Wouldn't you stop scrolling if you saw a video with the caption, "Look what happened when an intoxicated cat was pulled over?"

Accessibility

Subtitles also go beyond engagement and make your content more accessible to deaf or hard-hearing audiences - sending a message that you are a caring and inclusive brand.

And if you are looking for an international reach, you can have multi-lingual translations, making it easier for users from non-English speaking countries to engage with your business.

Enhance SEO

While search engines don't have the privilege to enjoy your quality videos, subtitles and captions can still get the attention of crawlers.

Crawlers can index your text tracks in HTML5 for keywords. This would mean using captions that are well-researched for specific keywords in your videos. You follow the same steps you would use when crafting an SEO-friendly blog post.

And adding these videos to your homepage or in your blogs will help boost your overall site ranking.

Components that Make a VTT File

Before we get into our guide, let's explore some of the components of a VTT file. Some of these components are optional, meaning even without them, your captions will still look good on screen.

• WEBVTT string should be at the start of your transcript. And this is not optional.
• Byte Order Mark or the BOM
• Text header which you position on the right of your WEBVTT string
• Blank lines. Your blank lines are also non-optional and have to be the size of two consecutive lines.
• Comments
• Cues

Step-by-step Guide

Now let's get into that detailed guide. Below we will give you easy-to-follow steps to create a WebVTT file.

Creating a VTT File on Windows 💻

To create the VTT file, you will need a text editor application. And since we are creating the file from Windows, we will use the preinstalled Windows Notepad.

1. Launch Notepad in Windows. If you are struggling to find the application, try searching for it in the start menu.
2. Type out WEBVTT and hit the enter key twice. This is to ensure we have those blank lines.
3. Type in your timecode. This should be in the format hours: minutes: seconds. milliseconds. Note that to add the milliseconds you will have to input three digits after the period. Between the beginning timecode to the end code, add -->.
4. After inputting the time, add the text that should appear on the screen during that specified period. Try to limit the character count to 32 so your subtitles do not cover the screen or are hard to read. Remember to press enter twice before you repeat each step. This is if your audio is longer than the selected time.
5. Now to name the document - in the top left corner, click File, Save. In the file name box, enter the name of your VTT file, remembering to include the VTT extension. And under the save as box, save it as all files.

Creating a VTT File on Mac 🍎

When creating the file on a Mac, you will also need a text editing application. And on Mac, you can turn to TextEdit.

1. Launch TextEdit. If you are struggling to find it, try the applications folder on your Mac.
2. Type the WEBVTT string. And once you are done, double-click the enter key to create the blank lines.
3. This is where you add your timecodes, and this depends on the length of your audio. The format we use is hh:mm:ss.ttt and don't forget to input --> from the beginning timecode to the end code.
4. Type your captions. Remember to keep them short so they are not over your content. We advise sticking to just three lines of text at most. Press the enter key twice once again.
5. Time to save your masterpiece. Click format and then select plain text. Once that is done, click save. After typing in the name, change the extension to "vtt". Then ensure both the "if no extension is provided use txt." and " hide extension" are not checked.

Final Touches for Your Web Video Text Tracks

When you make a VTT file, remember you can add cues or even comments, but comments won't be necessary if you are the one creating videos for your website versus using a professional service.

And when it comes time to upload your videos, using SmartVideo will ensure you have clean, professional, high-quality video content on your website or blog.

Visit our website to see the SmartVideo player in action.