If you’re someone who loves adding a visual punch to your Dev.to articles, you probably already use the Cover Image feature. But what if you want your cover to be a video instead of a static image?
Great news — Dec.to has added a brand new “Cover Video Link” option, and here’s how you can use it to level up your posts.
🎬 What is “Cover Video Link”?
With this feature, you can add a YouTube, Loom, Vimeo, or any public MP4 link as the cover for your article. Instead of a still image, readers see a clickable video preview — perfect for tutorials, demos, announcements, or storytelling.
This is especially useful if you:
- Share coding walkthroughs
- Publish devlogs
- Create product demos
- Post motion-based artwork or animations
- Want more instant engagement on your content
🛠️ How to Use It
When you create a new post, you’ll now see two buttons at the top:
- 🍌 Generate Image — for auto-creating a static cover
- 🎥 Cover Video Link — for inserting a video link as your cover
Simply click Cover Video Link, paste your URL, and boom — your article now has a video hero section.
✨ Why This Matters
Videos grab attention faster than images. They make your article more dynamic and easier to understand — especially when explaining technical concepts.
Developers learn visually. Showing beats telling.
Adding a video cover can:
- Increase click-through rate
- Improve time-on-page
- Make your content feel more polished and professional
- Help your tutorials stand out in the Dev.to feed
💡 Pro Tips
✔ Keep your video under 30–60 seconds for better engagement
✔ Use a clean thumbnail — this is what readers will see first
✔ If using Loom/YouTube, enable public access
✔ Consider pairing a video cover with code snippets or GIF demos inside the article itself
🧩 Combine It With “Generate Image”
Not sure whether to use an image or a video?
Use Generate Image to quickly produce artwork for standalone blog posts, and use Cover Video Link for guides, walkthroughs, and anything demo-based.
Two tools. Unlimited creativity.
🎉 Try It in Your Next Post
Whether you're teaching, documenting, demoing, or exploring — this feature gives you a new way to express your ideas.
Have fun experimenting, and drop a comment if you find interesting use-cases. Happy publishing! 💙
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