KEYWORD:
Integrating Videos on Your WordPress Site
Title:
A Step-By-Step Guide to Embedding Videos on Your WordPress Website
Tags:
WordPress, video integration, video hosting, website engagement, user-friendly
Adding videos to your WordPress website is a great way to increase user engagement and make your content more dynamic. Fortunately, WordPress makes it easy to embed videos from popular hosting platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. In this guide, we will take you through the process of embedding videos in different parts of your WordPress site, including blog posts, pages, and sidebar widgets. Let’s get started!
Should You Upload Videos Directly to WordPress?
If you have a small blog, you might consider uploading videos directly to WordPress. However, this is not recommended, especially for websites hosted on shared servers. Videos consume a lot of server resources, which can cause your website to crash if there’s a sudden surge in traffic. Additionally, uploading videos directly to WordPress means missing out on the potential traffic and exposure offered by popular video hosting sites like YouTube. YouTube not only serves as the largest video platform but is also the second most popular search engine and social network in the world, second only to Facebook. If you prefer not to use YouTube, there are alternatives available such as Vimeo, Jetpack Video, Wistia, and more. For more information on why it’s best to avoid uploading videos to your WordPress media library, check out our detailed post.
How to Embed Videos in WordPress Blog Posts
WordPress comes with a feature called auto-embeds, which automatically retrieves the embed code from supported video hosting services such as YouTube and Vimeo. To embed a video in a WordPress blog post, simply copy the video URL and paste it into the WordPress editor. WordPress will fetch the embed code automatically, allowing you to preview and customize the video’s settings, including width, alignment, caption, and mobile compatibility. Embedding videos from websites that are not on the auto-embed whitelist is just as easy. Get the HTML embed code from the hosting platform and paste it into the HTML block of the editor. If you are still using the older WordPress classic editor, the process is similar, although the advanced options available in the Gutenberg block editor may not be available.
Embedding Videos in WordPress Sidebar Widgets
In addition to blog posts and pages, you can also embed videos in sidebar widgets on your WordPress website. To do this, go to the Appearance » Widgets section in the WordPress admin area. Click on the ‘Add new block’ icon and search for ‘Video’ in the block search bar. Choose the desired video type, such as YouTube or Vimeo, and paste the video URL. Click ‘Embed,’ and the video will be added to the widget area. Save the changes and visit your website to see the video in action. The video will automatically adjust its size to fit the widget area dimensions.
Enhancing the Video Viewing Experience with Plugins
While you can embed videos on WordPress without using additional plugins, incorporating plugins can enhance the video viewing experience on your website. Here are some highly recommended WordPress plugins:
Optimized YouTube Feed Plugin by Smash Balloon: This plugin allows you to create a customizable gallery featuring your YouTube channel’s videos. It includes live streaming, playlists, and social media integration and is preferred by over 40,000 website owners.
Envira Gallery: Known as the top WordPress gallery plugin, Envira Gallery offers a Videos Addon that lets you create stunning and responsive video galleries. Supported platforms include YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, and DailyMotion.
YouTube Subscribe Bar: This plugin adds a YouTube subscribe button beneath your embedded videos, displaying your channel’s subscriber count and encouraging more users to subscribe to your content.
Lazy Load for Videos: This plugin addresses the issue of slow page loading caused by loading video embed scripts from external websites. The plugin significantly improves performance by loading the embed code only when the user clicks the play button.
By following this comprehensive guide and utilizing these plugins, you can easily integrate videos into your WordPress website, captivating your visitors and increasing engagement on your platform.
