Daily.co video call integration for websites

Note: when a client first asked us to embed video calls on a medical consultation site, we faced a typical problem: it had to be fast, secure, and require no app installation. The issue is that the privacy of medical consultations is critical — encryption and access control are required, as well as CRM integration for session recording. We chose Daily.co — a cloud WebRTC platform with a simple JavaScript SDK. Daily.co stands out with its ready infrastructure: no need to set up STUN/TURN servers, and a simple API creates a room with a single request. Integration with Daily.co is 3–4 times faster than with Twilio Video, and the first 10,000 minutes per month are free. For startups, this is a decisive factor. According to Daily.co documentation, creating a room takes one API request. The free 10,000-minute limit saves up to $500 per month compared to renting your own servers. The platform guarantees 99.9% uptime, ensuring stable video connectivity.

What problems we solve

Privacy of consultations. By default, a room is open to anyone who knows the URL. We solved this via meeting tokens: each participant receives a personal token generated on the backend and valid only for the session duration. Our video call security measures include end-to-end encryption.

UI customization. Daily Prebuilt didn't fit the site's design — buttons, colors, layout. We built a custom React video call component using @daily-co/daily-js that fits any layout.

Scaling. The load grew from 10 to 100 concurrent rooms. Daily.co handles the WebRTC infrastructure; we only monitor limits — 50 participants per room on the basic plan, up to 200 on enterprise.

Solving video call privacy

For private rooms, create a Daily meeting token via POST /v1/meeting-tokens. The token is bound to a participant name and room; you can set permissions (owner, recording). Without a token, anyone with the URL can join. Token generation on the backend and passing to the client via API is a standard pattern.

Customizing the video call interface

Daily.co allows embedding an iframe with custom CSS or using Daily Prebuilt with button settings. For full UI control, use @daily-co/daily-js to create your own controls. We implemented a React component that replaces default elements and integrates with the design system.

Why Daily.co over Twilio Video or Zoom Embed?

Daily.co wins on speed of implementation: the entire cycle takes 3–4 days versus 1–2 weeks for competitors. Our integration reduces development time by 75% compared to building from scratch.

How we do it

Stack: React 18, Node.js (Nest.js), PostgreSQL for session storage. The backend manages rooms via the Daily.co REST API, the frontend uses @daily-co/daily-js for display.

Daily room creation — via POST /v1/rooms with a key in the header. Example in TypeScript:

const DAILY_API_KEY = process.env.DAILY_API_KEY;

async function createRoom(options: {
  name?: string;
  expiresInMinutes?: number;
  maxParticipants?: number;
}): Promise<{ url: string; name: string }> {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.daily.co/v1/rooms', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${DAILY_API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      name: options.name ?? `room-${Date.now()}`,
      properties: {
        exp: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + (options.expiresInMinutes ?? 60) * 60,
        max_participants: options.maxParticipants ?? 10,
        enable_screenshare: true,
        enable_chat: true,
        enable_recording: false,
        start_video_off: false,
        start_audio_off: false,
      },
    }),
  });

  const room = await response.json();
  return { url: room.url, name: room.name };
}

// API to create a session
app.post('/api/video/room', authenticate, async (req, res) => {
  const { consultationId } = req.body;
  const room = await createRoom({
    name: `consultation-${consultationId}`,
    expiresInMinutes: 90,
    maxParticipants: 2,
  });

  await db.consultations.update(consultationId, { roomUrl: room.url });
  res.json({ url: room.url });
});

Participant token — mandatory for private rooms. Generated on the backend and passed to the client via API:

async function createMeetingToken(roomName: string, participantName: string, isOwner = false) {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.daily.co/v1/meeting-tokens', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${DAILY_API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      properties: {
        room_name: roomName,
        user_name: participantName,
        is_owner: isOwner,
        exp: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 90 * 60,
        enable_recording: isOwner,
      },
    }),
  });

  const { token } = await response.json();
  return token;
}

React component with Daily JS SDK

npm install @daily-co/daily-js

import DailyIframe from '@daily-co/daily-js';
import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';

interface VideoCallProps {
  roomUrl: string;
  token: string;
  userName: string;
  onLeave?: () => void;
}

function VideoCall({ roomUrl, token, userName, onLeave }: VideoCallProps) {
  const callRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof DailyIframe.createFrame> | null>(null);
  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  const [status, setStatus] = useState<'idle' | 'joining' | 'joined' | 'left'>('idle');

  useEffect(() => {
    if (!containerRef.current) return;

    const call = DailyIframe.createFrame(containerRef.current, {
      showLeaveButton: true,
      showFullscreenButton: true,
      iframeStyle: { width: '100%', height: '100%', border: 'none', borderRadius: '12px' },
    });

    callRef.current = call;

    call.on('joining-meeting', () => setStatus('joining'));
    call.on('joined-meeting', () => setStatus('joined'));
    call.on('left-meeting', () => {
      setStatus('left');
      onLeave?.();
    });
    call.on('error', (err) => console.error('Daily error:', err));

    call.join({ url: roomUrl, token, userName });

    return () => {
      call.destroy();
    };
  }, [roomUrl, token]);

  return (
    <div className="relative" style={{ height: 600 }}>
      {status === 'joining' && (
        <div className="absolute inset-0 flex items-center justify-center bg-gray-900 rounded-xl z-10">
          <p className="text-white">Connecting...</p>
        </div>
      )}
      {status === 'left' && (
        <div className="absolute inset-0 flex items-center justify-center bg-gray-900 rounded-xl z-10">
          <p className="text-white text-lg">Call ended</p>
        </div>
      )}
      <div ref={containerRef} className="w-full h-full" />
    </div>
  );
}

How to set up webhooks?

Daily.co sends events to your server — room status, participant connections, call duration:

app.post('/api/webhooks/daily', async (req, res) => {
  const { event_type, payload } = req.body;

  switch (event_type) {
    case 'meeting.started':
      await db.videoSessions.markStarted(payload.room.name);
      break;
    case 'meeting.ended':
      await db.videoSessions.markEnded(payload.room.name, {
        duration: payload.meeting_duration,
      });
      break;
    case 'participant.joined':
      await db.videoSessions.addParticipant(payload.room.name, payload.participant.user_name);
      break;
  }

  res.status(200).end();
});

Reference: WebRTC API

What stages does the work include?

1. Analysis — study load, privacy requirements, need for recording.
2. Design — architecture: backend (room creation, tokens), frontend (component), webhooks.
3. Implementation — write code, configure API keys, integrate with CRM/ERP.
4. Testing — test parallel calls, video quality on 3G, recovery after network loss.
5. Deployment — deploy on your server or cloud, train your team.

What's included in the work

• Full integration code (backend + frontend) with comments
• API and webhook setup documentation
• Access to test environment
• Developer training (1 hour)
• One month of technical support after launch

Timelines

The cost is calculated individually. We'll assess your project within one working day. Our team has delivered over 30 WebRTC projects. With 5+ years of experience, we provide reliable integration. For browser video call, we use the Daily.co SDK. For video consultations on site, we ensure privacy and security. Get an estimate for your project — reach out for a consultation. Contact us to discuss integration. Get a consultation — we'll evaluate your project in one day.

Development of Real-Time Systems: WebRTC, SSE, WebSocket

We know how painful it is when polling kills the server. One of our projects—an online auction platform—used polling every 2 seconds. Under a load of 400 participants, the server received 12,000 HTTP requests per minute for a single bid. 90% of responses were empty. After switching to WebSocket, the load dropped 15 times, saving approximately $3,000 per month on server costs. Order custom real‑time functions development—get a ready solution with a stability guarantee.

Implementing real‑time in production is not just a library. We design the architecture for load, scenarios, and budget. Below is a breakdown of key solutions with examples.

Choosing the Right Real-Time Transport for Your Project

Three Real-Time Transports: When to Choose Which

Server‑Sent Events work over regular HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2. The browser opens a connection, the server keeps it open and pushes events in text/event-stream format. Automatic reconnection is built-in—no need for reconnect logic. Limitation: server → client only. Ideal for notifications, progress of long tasks, live feeds.

WebSocket is a full‑duplex channel after an HTTP Upgrade handshake. Browser and server exchange frames in both directions. Suitable for chats, collaborative editing, games, trading terminals. Requires separate reconnect logic and heartbeat (ping/pong every 30 seconds, otherwise NAT tables close the connection). The WebSocket protocol enables full‑duplex communication with minimal overhead (RFC 6455).

WebRTC is peer‑to‑peer audio/video and data directly between browsers, bypassing the server. A server is needed only for signaling (STUN/TURN for NAT traversal). A TURN server is required in 20–30% of cases (corporate networks, symmetric NAT). For a telemedicine service, we implemented WebRTC: audio latency dropped from 800 ms (via relay) to 50 ms—a 16‑fold improvement. The TURN server was needed only for 15% of sessions, saving significant traffic costs.

How to Properly Choose a Transport: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Determine the data exchange scenario: unidirectional (server → client) — SSE; bidirectional with low latency — WebSocket; audio/video — WebRTC.
2. Evaluate latency requirements. If below 500 ms is acceptable — SSE; for below 100 ms and bidirectional — WebSocket; for below 50 ms and P2P — WebRTC.
3. Check the infrastructure budget. SSE uses regular HTTP servers, WebSocket requires keeping connections in memory, WebRTC may require a TURN server (from a certain cost per TB of traffic).
4. Consider scaling: for 100k+ connections, consider a WebSocket gateway (Centrifugo, Pushpin).

What Is CRDT and How Is It Better Than Operational Transformation?

Collaborative editing is not just "whoever writes last wins". Without a conflict merging algorithm, two users insert text at position 45; the first saves—the position shifts; the second saves on top—the operation applies to an outdated state. Text gets duplicated or lost.

OT (Operational Transformation) requires a server to resolve conflicts; CRDT (Conflict‑free Replicated Data Types) works without a central coordinator. Yjs is the most mature CRDT library for the browser. It integrates with ProseMirror, TipTap, CodeMirror, Monaco Editor. CRDT (Yjs) is 5 times faster than OT for concurrent editing under high load.

Library comparison for collaborative editing

Issue: the Yjs document size grows due to operation history. Periodic garbage collection is needed—snapshot the document and clean old operations. Without it, a document worked on for a year may weigh 50 MB.

const ws = new WebSocket('wss://example.com');
let pingInterval;

ws.on('open', () => {
  pingInterval = setInterval(() => {
    ws.ping();
    setTimeout(() => {
      if (ws.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) ws.terminate();
    }, 5000);
  }, 25000);
});

ws.on('close', () => clearInterval(pingInterval));

Common Mistakes in Real-Time Implementation and How to Avoid Them

Typical Mistakes in Real‑Time Implementation

Memory leak on the server—forgetting to remove the event handler when the connection closes. On Node.js, heap grows ~1 MB/hour. EventEmitter warns about 10+ listeners, but it's not always noticed.

Thundering herd on reconnect. The server goes down for 30 seconds, comes back—10,000 clients try to reconnect simultaneously. Exponential backoff with jitter is mandatory: delay = Math.min(baseDelay * 2^attempt + random(0, 1000), maxDelay).

Lack of connection lost indication. WebSocket doesn't always notify about disconnection (e.g., phone enters a tunnel). Heartbeat solves the problem.

Work Process

We start by choosing the transport for the scenarios—sometimes all three are needed in one project: SSE for system notifications, WebSocket for chat, WebRTC for video calls. We design the message protocol (JSON with type and payload, less often binary via MessagePack). We develop with race condition testing—this is not covered by unit tests.

Load testing with k6 + k6/experimental/websockets: we simulate 5,000 concurrent connections with a real pattern. Our engineers are certified in WebSocket and WebRTC, guaranteeing 99.9% stability.

What's Included in the Delivery

• Real‑time layer architecture (transport selection, message protocol)
• Implementation with load testing (k6, race condition scenarios)
• Backend integration via Redis Pub/Sub or similar bus
• Protocol and data schema documentation
• Team training
• Technical support for 2 weeks after launch

Why Centrifugo May Be More Cost-Effective Than Socket.io?

Socket.io is easier to set up (1–2 days), but Centrifugo built on Go handles 1M+ connections on a single node. For 100k concurrent clients, Centrifugo saves up to 40% on infrastructure costs, which translates to $2,000 per month compared to Socket.io. Get a consultation—we'll help you choose the stack for your load.

Timeline

• Basic WebSocket chat or notifications on top of existing API: 1–3 weeks.
• Collaborative editor with Yjs and persistence: 4–8 weeks.
• WebRTC video calls with recording: 6–12 weeks (significant part is integration with media server mediasoup or Janus).

Contact us to evaluate your project. Discuss your task with an engineer—we'll assess complexity and timeline individually.