How to Add Video to a WordPress Blog Post the Easy Way

Jul 10, 2008
66 Comments

You’re new to this whole blogging thing. You want to put a cool video in your post like you see everywhere on the web, but you haven’t figured out how to do it. I got your back. Everything’s easy when you know how, right? ;) So watch this video to see how it’s done the easy way. Here’s what you’ll get out of it:

  • What NOT to do (the “Add media” buttons are wrong)
  • Where to get the embed code on a YouTube video
  • How to customize the embedded movie player
  • How to embed the movie the easy way, WITHOUT extra plugins

So enjoy (you may want to go full screen but the quality’s not as good as Viddler–since I used YouTube in the video, I wanted to use them for this post).

If you can’t see the video in your email or reader, it’s on YouTube: How to Add Video to a WordPress Post.

Also of Interest

Since I’ve written this post, many people have asked questions in the comments below and I’ve done my best to answer them, so please do check them out and leave a comment yourself if you have a question.

I have a few more posts on video blogging you may also find interesting if you found this one helpful:

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  • Is there a way to add the videos from my own camera? No matter what I've tried, it says the file is too big.
  • Launi, it is possible to increase the file size for uploads, however, it's often not easily done (it's technical) and it may not give you what you want. The reason for this is that videos which are on our cameras are often not in a good format for the web. They need to be compressed to a smaller file size and converted into a different file format. I would highly suggest you use YouTube or Viddler. Upload your videos to their services, then grab the embed codes for your blog post. Let them handle the hosting and bandwidth (and provide an extra gateway for traffic, too).
  • Thank you very much.
    you are awesome. I now how to do it. x

    Best!
  • Craig
    Awesome post. I'm installing my first WP blog and this was really helpful. Do you have any tips on embedding a video file? Rather than embedding a video that is posted on YouTube? Thank you!
  • Craig, you need to use a media plugin, such as PodPress or Longtail. Another possibility is the Kaltura plugin/service. If you google them you'll find plenty of info.
  • Chris
    Hi - this is great - but it just doesn't work for me!

    I paste the code in, I can even see the yellow 'flash' box in the visual window but as soon as I save it - the code/yellow box visual disappears. I've done it over and over again - same thing. Tried two different browsers just incase (Safari and Firefox on a Mac) but no go. Below is the code - it's not from You Tube but from another site, but should work fine and I actually got this code from another blogger who had used it to embed to her site....



    Thanks

    Chris
  • Chris, try doing it without reverting back to the visual tab. Just stay in the html tab. If that doesn't work, then try a plugin for video like EasyTube.

    By the way, this seems to be a "Mac problem." I've seen it before.
  • Thank you for making this soooooo simple. God bless you. I couldn't figure this out for the life of me:-)
  • I like your post. Good stuff. Keep them coming :)…
  • Thanks Michael. I was having some trouble getting a myspace video into my post. This simple solution did the trick.
    Best,
    Cat Johnson
  • adeline
    how do you add a CNN video to a wordpress post ?

    I can add youtube videos with no problem but not CNN videos eventhough CNN has an embed video option. thanks !!!

    http://www.cnn.com/video
  • @Adeline - At the moment, I don't know. Never tried to do anything with CNN video. Anybody else know?
  • Thanks again.
  • @Valeria - If you want the whole screen, use http://www.thumbalizr.com/. Otherwise, there may be a Firefox add-on. After that, you're looking for software, which depends on your operating system.
  • Got another simple question about taking screen shots that I've forgotten how to do.

    How do I capture a picture of a webpage?
  • Thanks for answering so quickly. Yup I switched back and forth from visual to html and probably screwed it up. I'll try again. If at first you don't succeed...
  • @Valeria - the embed codes always work, so if you're having a problem it can be due to several reasons. Possibly all the embed code hasn't been copied. Possibly you switched tabs to visual and back again (this DOES cause problems for some people). Possibly a plugin is interfering.
  • Ok I got one of the videos to embed, however, when I go on You Tube and say for instance I want to embed the video of "Meet Limpy" and it's there on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, the embed directions do not correctly embed. The empty box with an X appears instead. Why don't all the embed directives work?
  • Thanks so much. I embedded video before, because I've done a little web writing, but had problems with more html showing up in the finished blog. Now I see that there is a check box that says something about adding all other relative videos available. When I unchecked that box all was solved.
  • I did this the way you suggested, but Google rejects the embed code in the RSS and will not read my feed. Feed Validator gives an error because of the embed code. How do we put the video in our blogs so that there are no coding errors coming up?
  • @Coree - You probably have a problem created by a plugin. Seems they can really screw up valid feeds. There is no valid reason why you can't do this in WordPress 2.7.1, which I know you're running because I looked at your site. The only way you'll know is to deactivate plugins and then see if the videos and feeds work. Change your theme also and see if that makes a difference. Unless your blog wasn't upgraded or installed properly, I seriously doubt this is WordPress' fault. Good luck! :)
  • Excellent video!

    After frantically and unsuccessfully hunting around Wordpress on Embed Video functions, you made it so easy! =)
  • Thanks for this tutorial. I've had Wordpress for a few months but am a technophobe. Finally gotten past this last hurdle.

    Cheers Mike! (I can call you Mike right?)

    :-)
  • @Christy - Um... OK (blushes). I'm glad you found this helpful!
  • I'm kind of in love with you now...

    What clear, concise directions. The video was just cake! Thanks so much.
  • Scott
    Very clear instructions on embedding a video - got it! Makes complete sense.

    The one thing, well 2 things I really need to do now is push my video to the right, and wrap text around it on the left. You said this before:
    "You’ll need to wrap the embed code in a div tag and use css to float the div left or right so text can wrap around it."

    How exactly do you do that? Or should should I say, what exactly would/could the code look like? I think tags look like , but after that I'm lost! Any info would GREATLy appreciated as I'm going nuts with this one. Thanks a million for helping us struggling wordpress people!!!
  • Erik
    Thank you so much! The word press site suggestion was so frustrating. Nice work!
  • oh u're a hero
    thnx a lot
    i've tried so many times but it didn't work until i saw ur video

    and as u said, Wordpress is really good but weird sometimes

    thnx again and have a nice day
  • Thank you so much for this! on wordpress' help site, they tell you how to use the media buttons, which obviously do not work...this was quick and easy
  • thank you thank you thank you thank you!!

    Aaaah, I've read over and over about different issues and noone has ever explained the sooo easy move to just push the html-tab, until now.

    I could almost say I love you :D
  • BeN
    Thanks a lot.I'm trying to follow the instructions to add a video to my blog.
  • steve
    Very good post. Thanks a lot.
  • Hello, Michael - thanks for the very insightful tutorial! Wordpress is quite a beast, but I'm learning how to tame it. My question regarding video: I want to add my own video clips (aka video blog); would it be easier to put them on YouTube and then create the links in my blog posts as per your steps, or is there a way to link to them from my PC? I do have access to my webserver's directory; can I load them into the blog folder there and link to them, or is via YouTube a better way to go? Thanks for any insigut you can provide!
  • @Rich - Great questions! Look for Monday's post for the answers. :)
  • karen johnson
    Thank you. Clear. thorough and you make it simple
  • crap sorry, used my username @liesforliars
  • @Jared - Double crap, I deleted your first comment before I saw this one! But to answer your question of why not just use the add video button: in a WordPress self-hosted blog (in other words, not on WordPress.com) this action only creates a URL. It does not embed the video.
  • Thank you Michael. Really appreciate the video lesson. That was so easy, you're the best, keep up the good work.
  • you have made my life a little easier today! thanks for saving me from installing some useless plugin!!

    www.bullsbattlebears.com
  • Thanks for this simple tip. I just spent 2 hours searching for a plugin or way to embed a Viddler video.

    Sheesh. I too love WordPress, but why make it so hard?

    Let's hope WP 2.8 greatly improves all the media integration! Thanks a bunch!
  • @Theresa - Wonderful! Glad that worked for you. :)
  • Michael,
    I just followed the instructions and it is very easy. Thanks so much I sure appreciate the help.

    All the best,
    Theresa
  • @Michelle - You're welcome. Glad you got a lot of value out of it. :)
  • Wow! That was so cool, thank you sooo much! I had messed around with adding video through that very same option in Wordpress, and went - what the heck? Could have done that by just adding a link. :-P I absolutely LOVE the customization from youtube - I had NO clue.

    Now this is what I call one HELPFUL video - so quick and simple!

    Can't thank you enough for this little gem!
    Thanks!
    Michelle
  • @Clark - You're welcome. The only thing WLW doesn't do is help you deal with comments, but it IS great for writing posts.
  • Clark
    This is a perfect solution for him, I've been searching for a WYSIWYG that he would be able to use so this is nailing 2 birds with one stone!

    Thanks a lot!
  • @Clark - If your father is on a PC I suggest you download and install for him Windows Live Writer and get the YouTube video plugin for it. Super easy. I use it myself even though I can write html as fluently as English.
  • Clark
    Thanks. I was afraid that that was the case. I'm setting up a blog for my father to use professionally, and I'm afraid that he would find that too inconvenient to be worth it.
  • @Clark - In order to do those things, you will need to edit the html for the embed. That will let you change the size. You'll need to wrap the embed code in a div tag and use css to float the div left or right so text can wrap around it.
  • Clark
    I'm trying to get a video embedded, resized, and then aligned somehow so that I can have text wrapped around it. I've tried everything I know how to do and even some things that are way above my pay grade. I can't even seem to find a plug-in that can help me with this.

    Any help?
  • @Kim - Any time! Thank you for reading and commenting! :)
  • @Michael, not Mark

    heh, sorry about that. My brain's mushy from all this html stuff. :p

    Okay, I probably won't mess with it then. I'm not proficient with html, but I'm learning as I go.

    Thank you for your response and all the great info on your site! :)

    Kim
  • @Kim - Who's Mark? :)

    The reason why you don't see the video in the categories or date archives is because the code in those pages does not show videos, picture, or links. That is the default behavior of the "excerpt" code that is on those pages.

    It can be changed by editing the archive.php file, which is one of the files that make up your WordPress theme.

    However, it can only be done by a person who knows what they're doing with the code and an FTP client (for a self-hosted blog--for a wordpress.com blog, you're just out of luck).
  • Thanks Mark!

    I have the video embedded in my blog post now, but when I view the post in the Categories section, the video disappears. It works fine on the front page or when I look at it in the Recent Posts section. Same with images. Am I doing something wrong?
  • Super. It took almost a day to find this info. Thanks, great job. :)
  • Thank you, I was having a little problem with embedding a video in the post but now its fine.
  • JR
    This is a great tutorial. Thank you!
  • I had tried putting video on my blog but it threw out the layout (too big). I just followed the advice to cut the height and width by half and I just successfully added a YouTube video to my blog. Thank you.
  • @Michael -
    My issue with WP 2.5 is this - I click Add Media, add a photo and tell it to align (left or right), and it tosses it in but doesn't do the text wrapping (so the image looks awkward). I then select on the image, click on the image edit button, and lo and behold ... the alignment doesn't show as set. If I set it from within *there*, then it does the wrap.

    Weird. Annoying. :-)
  • @Dave - when you use the align features, specific CSS classes are created. It is possible, then, to have CSS styles created for these classes so that when you use them in your theme the pictures will always look good.

    Thanks for bringing up the video resizing idea, I know a lot of people would benefit from knowing that. In the code the dimensions are given twice, so make sure you change both instances.

    @Marko - In previous versions of WordPress, the html tab didn't faithfully render the code, resulting in botched video embdeds. People like me had to use the permanent code view (set in user options) while less technical folk had to try and find a plugin that would work halfway decently.
  • Interesting. I've never noticed that "Add Video"-button. I have always added videos by adding embedded code in the code-tab. Thanks for posting the video!
  • Good video.

    I've noticed that the Add Media buttons don't always do the job for me (especially the image one, it never seems to do the align right).

    One thing to add to this is that you can edit the dimensions of the video if you need to. I use the Revolution Magazine theme and need to downsize the video so it won't throw my layout off - I just take the YouTube embed URL and reduce the dimensions by 50%.
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