Are you looking to elevate your WordPress blog posts with engaging videos? Videos not only bring life to your website but also significantly boost user engagement. In this guide, we’ll walk you through four easy methods to embed videos in WordPress blog posts, pages, and even sidebar widgets.
Why Embed Videos in Your WordPress Blog?
Adding videos to your WordPress blog captures visitor attention, increasing engagement and conversions. Videos can also extend the time users spend on your site, catering to those who prefer visual content over written text.
Should You Upload Videos Directly to WordPress?
While it’s possible to upload videos directly to WordPress, we advise against it. Small blogs on shared hosting can face server resource issues, leading to potential website crashes during high video traffic. Uploading to platforms like YouTube or Vimeo ensures broader visibility and audience reach.
Also read: 20 Incredible WordPress Video Themes Videographers Should Look For
Four Methods to Embed Videos in WordPress
Method 1: Using Block Editor (Gutenberg)
1. Copy the video URL (e.g., from YouTube).
2. Paste the URL in the WordPress editor; the block editor will auto-embed the video.
3. Customize video settings and save your post.
Method 2: Classic Editor
1. Copy the video URL.
2. Paste it in the classic editor; the video preview will appear.
3. Click ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to make your changes live.
Method 3: Sidebar Widgets
1. Go to Appearance » Widgets in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Add a new block, search for ‘Video,’ and choose the platform (e.g., YouTube).
3. Paste the video URL, click ‘Embed,’ and update your widget.
Method 4: Video Embed Plugins
Consider using plugins for an enhanced video experience. Some recommendations include:
Overview:
Smash Balloon YouTube Feed Pro is a cutting-edge WordPress plugin designed to elevate your website’s video integration. Trusted by over 40,000 website owners, this plugin seamlessly embeds your entire YouTube channel’s videos in a customizable gallery format.
Key Features:
1. Automatic Embedding: The plugin effortlessly imports new videos, consolidates feeds, and supports live streaming functionality, offering a hassle-free video integration experience.
2. Customizable Gallery: Users can tailor the appearance of their video gallery, including views, likes, shares, comments, and reactions, enhancing social proof and engagement.
3. Extensive Platform Support: Beyond YouTube, the plugin supports various video hosting services, providing flexibility in content sourcing.
4. Social Wall Integration: When combined with the Social Wall plugin, Smash Balloon YouTube Feed seamlessly combines social media content from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube on a single WordPress page.
Overview:
Smash Balloon TikTok Feed Pro is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to simplify the embedding of TikTok videos on your website. This plugin automates the process, seamlessly bringing your TikTok channel’s content into a visually appealing video gallery feed.
Key Features:
1. Automatic Feed Updates: The plugin automatically fetches and displays your latest TikTok videos, ensuring real-time content integration.
2. Versatile Feed Layouts: Users can choose from multiple feed layouts, including grid, carousel, list, and masonry, providing flexibility in presentation.
3. Drag and Drop Feed Editor: The intuitive feed editor empowers users to customize the look of their TikTok feed effortlessly, adjusting colors, styling, spacing, and more.
4. Content Moderation: The plugin includes moderation tools, allowing users to filter videos based on keywords or hashtags and create curated video feeds.
- Envira Gallery (for Beautiful Video Galleries)
Overview:
Envira Gallery stands out as a premium WordPress plugin renowned for its excellence in creating visually stunning galleries. While originally focused on photos, the plugin’s Videos Addon extends its capabilities to support responsive and aesthetically pleasing video galleries.
Key Features:
1. Video Galleries: Envira Gallery’s Videos Addon facilitates the creation of video galleries from popular platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, DailyMotion, and more.
2. Playlist Support: Users can display YouTube playlists directly from their accounts, enhancing playlist management and presentation.
3. Customization: The plugin allows for easy customization, supporting options such as starting YouTube videos at specific timestamps and maintaining aspect ratios.
4. Smart Thumbnail Generation: Envira Gallery automatically grabs video thumbnails, streamlining the gallery creation process.
Overview:
Easy Subscribe Button Widget is a free WordPress plugin designed to enhance user engagement by showcasing a YouTube subscribe button below embedded YouTube video content. Originating from WPBeginner, this plugin also displays your YouTube subscriber count, adding a layer of social proof.
Key Features:
1. Subscribe Button Integration: The plugin seamlessly integrates a YouTube subscribe button below your embedded YouTube videos.
2. Subscriber Count Display: Users can showcase their current YouTube subscriber count, fostering credibility and encouraging additional subscriptions.
3. Promotes Channel Visibility: Originally created to promote WPBeginner’s YouTube channel, the plugin effectively draws attention to and promotes your YouTube presence.
Overview:
Lazy Load for Videos is a WordPress plugin strategically designed to optimize website performance by addressing the impact of loading video embed scripts from external sources. The plugin prioritizes page load speed and efficiency by loading video embed codes only when triggered by user interactions.
Key Features:
1. Deferred Loading: Instead of loading video embed scripts on page load, the plugin defers this process until a user initiates video playback.
2. Performance Optimization: By reducing the initial page load impact, Lazy Load for Videos contributes to improved website performance and user experience.
3. Compatibility: The plugin seamlessly integrates with various video hosting platforms, complementing your existing video content.
Conclusion
Enhance your WordPress content with embedded videos to provide value and engagement. Whether you choose auto-embeds, classic methods, or plugins, embedding videos can transform your website. Try these methods and plugins, and share your experiences in the comments below. Happy embedding!
FAQs
Which video hosting platforms can I use for embedding in WordPress?
WordPress supports embedding from popular video hosting services such as YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, and more. These platforms provide embed codes that can be easily inserted into your WordPress posts, pages, or widgets.
Can I upload videos directly to my WordPress media library?
While it’s possible to upload videos directly, it’s not recommended for small blogs on shared hosting. Uploading videos can consume server resources, potentially leading to performance issues. It’s advisable to use external platforms like YouTube for broader visibility.
How do I embed videos using the Block Editor in WordPress?
In the Block Editor, simply copy the video URL from platforms like YouTube and paste it into the editor. WordPress will automatically fetch the embed code, displaying the video within your content.
