Video lessons length tips & tricks

If you want your online course on Sherpo to convert and keep students engaged to the last lesson, the length of each video is one of the most important design choices you’ll make. It’s not just about “short” versus “long”, it’s about finding the optimal balance to ensure the highest engagement for learners. Naturally, this applies for each lesson, which is the lowest common denominator for a total video course. The idea is that if you can optimize for each lesson length, then the video course as a whole will work.

The right duration increases watch-through rates, improves learning, and makes your course feel like a high-value experience, boosting your reviews, as well as customer loyalty. The wrong duration causes learners to drop-off, and can even hurt future sales: who would be willing to buy again, if they still haven't even completed the first course they bought from you?

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What the research says about online lessons video length

Data from a large MIT/edX study on MOOC videos, covering 6.9 million viewing sessions, found that videos under six minutes achieved the highest engagement. Anything longer saw a sharp decline in viewer attention, no matter the subject. A University of Wisconsin–Stout survey on recorded mini-lectures reached similar conclusions from the student perspective: most learners found videos “best kept under 15 minutes” and appreciated captions for comprehension and note-taking. This isn’t just about clicks. In a 2022 flipped-classroom study on engineering students, shorter videos improved final exam scores by 9% and increased watch time by nearly 25% compared to longer lectures. Proof that short videos can boost both engagement and learning outcomes. Meta-analyses like Noetel et al. 2021 confirm it: well-structured videos generally improve learning in higher education, especially when they’re focused and easy to navigate.

So why do shorter videos work? Educational psychology explains this through the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning: our working memory has limits. Long, unbroken videos overload it, especially for beginners. Breaking lessons into shorter chunks, also called the segmenting principle, gives learners space to process information and improves retention. But context matters. For novice audiences, shorter, well-scoped videos are almost always better. For expert learners, longer walkthroughs may work, as they can process more information without overload, a pattern known as the expertise reversal effect. This may bring us a practical insight: if your course is meant to take your learners from a beginner to expert outcome, you can have longer videos by the end! Indeed, one might expect learners to complain a little if, by the end of the course, the videos are too segmented. And the same is valid for a course aimed at an already expert audience.

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Practical duration ranges for your course

If you’re teaching skills to first-time buyers or mixed-level learners on Sherpo, these ranges work well:

• Core concept lessons: Aim for 6–9 minutes. This matches the strongest engagement data while keeping momentum high.
• Deep-dive walkthroughs: Keep these under 15 minutes when possible. If the topic truly needs more time, split it into clearly labeled parts (e.g., "Lesson 3, Part 1”).
• Live replays or interviews: These can run longer but should be edited into highlight clips for better watch-through.

And remember, on Sherpo, if you have a Pro or Ultra Plan, you can include preview lessons on paid courses, for anyone to watch before buying. Therefore, if your preview is a slow, 28-minute lecture, you risk losing buyers before they see your best material! Sherpo lets you upload unlimited videos, organize them into chapters, and mix lesson lengths without worrying about bandwidth costs. That means you can design courses exactly how people learn best: short, high-impact lessons at the start, deeper dives later, and use our built-in checkout, AI tools, and white-label features to sell under your own brand.

Once you’ve chosen the right length, make sure your video earns every second of it. Write your learning objective first, then script the minimum path to get there. Make sure to mix instructor presence (your face) with visuals, to boost social connection, and include captions for accessibility and comprehension. Finally, remember to insert natural breaks or prompts to maintain attention in longer videos. These aren’t just theory: they show up repeatedly in research and are simple to implement when you’re uploading to Sherpo. And if you’re still planning your curriculum, check out our post on best tools to build video courses in 2025 for some helpful tips, and our video course dos and don’ts for tips on pacing, structure, and student retention.

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FAQs about video length in online courses

1. How long should an online course video be? For most topics, research suggests keeping videos between 6–9 minutes for core lessons, and under 15 minutes for deep dives. Longer videos often cause attention drop-off, so splitting them into smaller parts improves engagement. (MIT/edX study)

2. What is the ideal video length for online learning? The ideal length depends on your audience’s expertise. Beginners benefit from shorter, segmented lessons, while experts can handle longer walkthroughs. Still, most creators see the best results by staying under 10 minutes for standard lessons.

3. Do shorter videos increase student engagement? Yes. Studies show that videos under six minutes have the highest completion rates, and that shortening lectures can increase watch time by over 20% while improving learning outcomes. (Zhu et al., 2022)

4. Is microlearning better for online courses? Microlearning, delivering content in short, focused bursts, is highly effective for online courses. It reduces cognitive overload, increases retention, and allows students to learn at their own pace.

5. How does Sherpo help with optimal video and course length? Sherpo lets you upload unlimited videos, split content into chapters, and enable free preview lessons for anyone to watch without logging in (on Pro and Ultra plans). This flexibility means you can combine short, high-engagement videos with longer walkthroughs, while also structuring your total course length for maximum completion.