One of my clients recently asked me how they could add a Youtube video to their blog post. I thought that the correct way to do this was common WordPress knowledge, so I figured I could point them to an easy to find Youtube video with instructions on how to do this. I was shocked when I couldn’t find a single video on how to add Video to a WordPress post, without using a plugin OR switching to the HTML editor (which is SCARY to many of my clients). Granted, with WP versions prior to 2.5, switching to the HTML editor was the way to go. But it seems like no one knows about this ‘secret’ button that makes adding Video to WP super simple in WP 2.5+. That said, I am going to let the secret to this button out of the box.
Step 1 – Reveal the extra WYSIWYG icons.
Default WordPress Post Editor icons
The default WordPress post editor probably looks something like the image above. To get to the ‘MAGIC’ button just click this icon: 
which opens up a ton of other WordPress features that very few people seems to talk about.
Step 2 – Click the Video embed button.
Click this button: 
which will open up an Add Video pane (Just like the add media button). The pane looks like this:
Wordpress 2.5+ Add Video Pane
Here’s where it gets really simple…
Step 3 – Grab the Youtube URL
Do NOT use the Embed code.
Step 4 – Paste the Youtube URL into the File URL box.
Needless to say you can paste in many types of links here. Not every service works, but I believe all of the majors work like Youtube, Myspace, Vimeo. Also self hosted videos may work in this way, though I haven’t tried it myself.
You don’t need to bother with the ‘Type’ section of the form. Leave it set to Flash. After you paste in the Youtube video URL, you can edit the Video size to fit specifically to your blog. Make sure to check off Constrain so that the video stays proportionate. Once you’ve done that, you’ll see a preview of the embedded video, which is also a nice feature.
Wordpress 2.5+ Video Embed Pane
There is also an ‘Advanced’ tab that gives you even MORE options when you combine it with the ‘Type’ options, but I will not get into that this go around. I will say this though. It’s POWERFUL.
Step 5 – Click Insert & you’re DONE.
Wordpress Video Embed Placeholder
From there you’ll see a yellow placeholder box which represents the placement of your video (pictured above). You can resize and drag it around just like you would do any image in a post.
Example.
I hope this helps someone out.
19 Comments
thanks for this info…
i remember when i first started out bloggin this was a thinker. nice post…
THis was helpful thanx.
thanks for this info…:)
it worked great and easier way to understand and post videos in blog posts
Hi there thanks for that, I was wondering if its possible for users of my wordpress site to embed youtube videos in their comments. I would really really appreciate any help you can give me on that
I should have known this, and feel a bit like an idiot, though that is not uncommon. :) Thanks for publishing this.
The implementation of youtube videos and wordpress has never been so easy, thanks so much!
Regards,
Jermaine
That was an extremely useful post. Your instructions were very easy to follow for a technoramous like me — and everything worked beautifully. Thanks for posting.
Great post ! i’ve already subscribed to your feed. Thanks
How do you post a slideshow of multiple YouTube videos in a single post in WordPress?
Example: http://tinyurl.com/13farnee
Hey J,
I’m not sure how they did that. Looks like something custom.
I have found many ways to post videos in wordpress. You can do a search for wordpress plugins. I perfer the plugins which can save time.
Thanx…..It works……..Great Job……….
Thank for the tip!!
Worked like a charm.. :-)
http://www.dvirreznik.com/2010/01/iphone-love-song/
Thanks a ton. I was fiddling around with the “Add Video” option on the top of the WYSIWYG editor (as described in many other tutorials). But this is exactly what I wanted to do :)
thank you .. helped heaps :)
you BISCUIT! Thank you SO much!
THANK YOU! I tried numerous ways to include a youtube video and you saved my sanity! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
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