How to Add Video to Your Greeting Card

A short video can make a group greeting card feel even more personal. You can record a message with your camera and microphone, review it before sharing, and add it directly to the card.

Before you record

Use a device with a working camera and microphone in a browser that supports video recording.

Allow Happy Tree Cards to use your camera and microphone when your browser asks.

Record somewhere well lit and quiet, and close other apps that may be using your camera or microphone.

1. Open the card

Open the card's signing link. If the card is password protected, enter the password supplied by the organiser before continuing.

In the card editing toolbar, select Record Video. The Record Video Message window will open and prepare a live camera preview.

2. Allow camera and microphone access

When prompted by your browser, allow access to both your camera and microphone. Wait until you can see the live preview before starting your message.

If access was previously blocked, open your browser's site permissions for Happy Tree Cards, allow the camera and microphone, then reopen the video recorder.

3. Record your message

Select Record and speak to the camera. The recorder shows the length and file size while you record and stops automatically when a limit is reached. A recording can be up to 30 seconds and 4.27MB.

Select Stop when you have finished. Keeping the message brief leaves time for everyone and helps it upload reliably.

4. Review or discard the recording

Play the recorded video to check the picture and sound. If you would like another attempt, select Discard. The recorder returns to the live preview so you can record again.

5. Add the video to the card

When you are happy with the recording, select Use Video. Keep the window open while the video is uploaded and processed; this usually takes about a minute.

When processing finishes, the window closes and the video appears on the card. You can then continue editing the card as normal.

Video message limits

Each card has a plan-based limit for recorded video messages. The recorder shows how many video message spaces remain:

Personal and Free organisation cards: 2 video messages per card.

Basic organisation cards: 3 video messages per card.

Professional organisation cards: 4 video messages per card.

Unlimited organisation cards: 10 video messages per card.

When the card reaches its limit, another video cannot be uploaded unless an existing video message is removed.

Video safety and captions

Uploaded videos are checked before being added. If inappropriate content is detected, the video is rejected and you can discard it and record another message. A video may also be rejected if its format cannot be processed safely.

Professional and Unlimited organisation cards can generate timed captions from speech when transcription is available. Captions appear during playback when the video contains transcript data.

Troubleshooting

No camera is connected: connect or enable a camera, then reopen the recorder.

Camera or microphone permission was denied: allow both permissions in your browser settings and try again.

The camera or microphone does not respond: close other apps using them, refresh the card and try again.

The browser is unsupported: update your browser or try a current version of another modern browser.

The recording is too long or large: discard it and record a shorter message under 30 seconds and 4.27MB.

Processing fails: keep the card open and try recording again. If the problem continues, use a different browser or device.

If you cannot add a video, you can still add a written message, signature, image, GIF or sticker to the card.