Squarespace video background on mobile: make it 16:9
Squarespace says to use landscape video like 16:9 to minimize cropping. Turn a vertical clip into 16:9 with Timeline blur fit, or crop it with Video filter.
Squarespace says: "To minimize cropping, use videos with a horizontal or landscape aspect ratio, like 16:9." If your clip is vertical, render a 16:9 version before uploading: Timeline 1.0 can place it in a landscape frame with a blurred fill, and Video filter can crop it.
Details are from the Timeline and Video filter docs, read 2026-09-30.
How do I fit a vertical clip into 16:9 without cropping?
Send a one-clip Timeline with output.width 1920 and output.height 1080 (even integers from 256 to 2160 are allowed) and fit set to blur. The timeline default is 1080x1920, so omitting the output size gives you portrait. Timeline also requires audio.duration_seconds (1 to 1800) with either an audio spine or audio.mode: "silence". The fit values are cover (default), contain, stretch and blur.
Which fit mode should I use?
| Option | Where | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
blur | Timeline fit | You want the whole vertical frame kept, with side areas filled |
contain | Timeline fit | You want the whole frame kept, with bars |
cover | Timeline fit (default) | Cropping to fill is acceptable |
crop op | Video filter ops[] | You choose the rectangle yourself, as fractions of the frame |
How do I choose the crop myself?
Video filter's crop op takes a rectangle as fractions of the source frame: x and y in 0-1, width and height in 0.05-1, with the rectangle inside the frame. It returns a new MP4 and costs $0.02 per encode job per the filter docs. See also Timeline fit modes.
Does this fix cropping on phones?
It removes the extra crop you would otherwise get from a mismatched aspect ratio, which is what Squarespace's advice targets. The page still frames the video to the section, so preview on a phone.
Sources
Related posts
More in Use cases
- Squarespace background video size: 60 seconds, aim for 40
Squarespace caps an uploaded section background video at 60 seconds and advises under 40. Cut a longer clip to 40 seconds with Sume Video trim first.
- Suno mashup of two songs: what Sume's music API can do
Sume's music models take a text prompt and one optional image, not audio, so no mashup of two songs. You can generate two tracks and join them end to end.
- Text to speech add pause: Flux, HeyGen and Gemini markers vs Sume
Deepgram Flux, HeyGen and Gemini TTS each use their own pause marker. Sume TTS has none, so use punctuation, speed, or a declared silence in Timeline.
- TikTok 3-minute videos: cut a longer clip to 180 seconds via API
TikTok's page says all creators can post 3-minute videos, some 5 or 10. Sume video-trim writes a 180 s MP4 from a longer clip so any creator can post it.
Written by Sume