Video content is as essential as written articles for your WordPress site.
In this article, we will explore three distinct approaches for incorporating videos into a WordPress website: using video links, embedding videos, and hosting them on a local server.
Videos are often regarded as more valuable by both users and search engines. So, how can you integrate videos into your WordPress site?
You can achieve this through three methods: video links, embedding, or utilizing a local server.
Adding Videos Using Video Links
You can incorporate video clips into your WordPress posts by using video links.
When you paste a URL from a site that allows for automatic embedding, the video will be displayed automatically after the URL is inserted.
This process is known as the oEmbed method, which is the simplest way to integrate videos into your WordPress site.
It is important to ensure that the video link is sourced from a site that is compatible with WordPress’s auto-embed feature; otherwise, the video will not be displayed.
For illustration, let’s consider a YouTube video. The content available on this video-sharing platform is fully compatible with various blogging systems, including WordPress, allowing for easy integration without the need for coding.
To embed a YouTube video, follow these steps:
- Open YouTube.
- Locate the video you wish to add to your site.
- Hover over the URL bar and copy the video’s link.
- Navigate to your WordPress visual editor.
- Paste the URL, and the video will appear.
The procedure is similar for other video platforms that support the oEmbed protocol.
Embedding Option to Add Videos
This approach yields the same outcome as the initial method, but the process for displaying the video differs slightly. Here, embedding refers to inserting the complete embed code rather than merely pasting the video URL.
The embed code facilitates the loading of an iframe that will showcase the video you are embedding.
One benefit of this second method is that it provides the opportunity to customize the appearance of the video within your WordPress post or page.
Using YouTube as an example, the following steps outline the manual embedding process:
Insert the embed code.
Select the YouTube video you wish to use.
On the video page, right-click the video and choose “copy embed code.”
Access your WordPress visual editor.
Change from visual mode to text mode.
Here’s an example of YouTube iframe code:
<iframe width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/sAILxpTkvgE” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Certain options provide customization capabilities, including the width and height of the iframe, which can be adjusted to suit your specific dimensional requirements.
Additionally, features such as frame border, accelerometer, autoplay, clipboard-write, encrypted-media, gyroscope, picture-in-picture, and allow fullscreen can be toggled on or off by modifying the code as needed.
Using Local Server to Add Videos
You can utilize the local server method to upload videos without relying on any external third-party services.
While we advise against directly uploading videos to your WordPress site due to concerns regarding speed and storage, you may still wish to understand the process. Here are the steps to follow:
Choose the uploaded video to insert it into your post or page.
Access the WordPress Media Library (located under the Media tab on the left sidebar).
Click on the “Add New” button.
Either drag and drop the video you wish to upload or click “Select Files” to choose a video file.
Navigate to the WordPress visual editor.
If you are using the classic editor, click the “Add Media” button; if you are using the block editor, select the “Video” block.
Websites that Support Auto Embedding in WordPress
Not every website supports the auto-embed functionality available on the WordPress platform.
To streamline the process of adding content to your WordPress site, ensure that you only embed from approved sources.
The following whitelisted resources can be utilized to incorporate content into your WordPress environment.
Spotify
YouTube
Vimeo
WordPress.tv
Dailymotion
VideoPress
TED
Tumblr
Meetup.com
Mixcloud
ReverbNation
Screencast
Scribd
Slideshare
SmugMug
Someecards
Amazon
Animoto
Cloudup
CollegeHumor
Crowdsignal
Flickr
Hulu
Imgur
Issuu
Kickstarter
SoundCloud
Speaker Deck