As more and more people are consuming video content, it has become necessary for websites to include videos on their pages. YouTube is one of the most popular video hosting sites and a great platform to embed videos on your WordPress site.
However, copying and pasting the YouTube embed code can be a tedious process. Shortcodes provide an easy solution to this problem.
You can improve the user experience and engagement on your WordPress site by embedding YouTube videos and playlists in a snap and with minimal effort thanks to shortcodes, which make the process quick and easy.
When you want to add dynamic content to your website but don’t want to learn a complicated programming language, you may use shortcodes, which are a straightforward and time-saving method.
This article will walk you through the process of generating shortcodes for your WordPress site, so that you may embed YouTube videos and playlists. We will take a step-by-step approach to the process of developing and using shortcodes, and also discuss the various benefits of doing so.
Whether you’re just starting out with WordPress or are a seasoned professional, you’ll find helpful information in this article for adding YouTube videos and playlists to your site. Let’s get started!
What are YouTube Shortcodes for Videos and Playlists?
Shortcodes are special codes that allow you to embed various types of media, including YouTube videos and playlists, on your WordPress site. They are a shortcut that allows you to add complex elements to your pages and posts without having to write any code.
Shortcodes are essentially a piece of code enclosed in brackets that can be inserted into your WordPress editor. When you publish the page or post, the shortcode is replaced with the media that it represents.
Using shortcodes to embed YouTube videos and playlists on your site is a convenient and time-saving solution. It eliminates the need to manually insert embed codes, which can be time-consuming and can also slow down your site’s loading speed. With shortcodes, you can quickly and easily embed videos and playlists, and customize them to fit the look and feel of your site.
In addition to being a convenient solution for adding YouTube videos and playlists to your site, shortcodes are also very flexible. You can customize them to fit your needs, changing things like video size, layout, pagination, autoplay settings, and much more.
This means that you can create a seamless experience for your users by embedding videos that are tailored to your site’s design and functionality. While working with WordPress, shortcodes are a must if you want to quickly and easily insert media into your site.
Is it possible to embed a YouTube video or playlist in WordPress?
WordPress has a built-in feature that allows you to add YouTube videos and playlists to your posts and pages using the oEmbed functionality.
To add a YouTube video or playlist, simply copy the URL of the video and paste it into the visual editor of your post or page. WordPress will automatically convert the URL into an embedded video or playlist.
However, the downside of using this method is that you won’t be able to customize the video or playlist as much as you would with a shortcode or plugin. You can only adjust the size of the video and choose whether to show suggested videos after the video ends.
Using a shortcode or plugin provides more flexibility in terms of customization, autoplay settings, and other features. However, if you simply need to embed a single video or playlist and don’t need much customization, the built-in oEmbed feature of WordPress is a good option.
If you want a beautifully created, customizable YouTube video gallery to be displayed on your WordPress website, shortcodes are absolutely necessary.
What are the advantages of using shortcodes for displaying a YouTube video or playlist in WordPress?
There are several advantages to displaying a YouTube video or playlist in WordPress using shortcodes. Here are a few:
- Customization: Shortcodes give you more control over how your YouTube videos and playlists are displayed on your website. You can customize the size, colors, layout, pagination, autoplay settings, and other features of your videos and playlists to match the look and feel of your website.
- Easy of Use: Shortcodes are simple to use and can be inserted into the WordPress editor with just a few clicks. This makes it easy to embed videos and playlists in your pages and posts, without having to write any code.
- Improved Loading Time: Shortcodes can improve the loading time of your website. This is because they are optimized for performance and can help reduce the size of your website’s pages.
- Consistency: Using shortcodes ensures that your videos and playlists are consistently displayed on your website, no matter where they are embedded. A shortcode will ensure that all of your product pages look identical, even if you have built multiple video galleries for different product pages.
How to Generate Shortcodes to include YouTube Videos & Playlists to your WordPress Site?
Keeping in mind the drawbacks of the oEmbed method of embedding single videos into your website, we would recommend the ELEX WordPress Embed YouTube Video Gallery plugin.
With this plugin, you may integrate and personalize an unlimited number of video galleries from YouTube, whether they contain entire channels, user handles, playlists, or individual videos.
It generates effective shortcodes for each YouTube video gallery you create, allowing you to easily embed the galleries in WordPress posts and pages.
You can also make your products more understandable by including a video demonstration of how they are used by including YouTube videos directly in the product gallery on WooCommerce product pages.
To begin generating shortcodes, you will first need to install and activate the ELEX WordPress Embed YouTube Video Gallery plugin, which will enable you to embed YouTube videos and playlists in WordPress.
Once the plugin is installed and activated, you can access its settings in one of two ways:
Dashboard > YouTube Gallery > Create (or)
Dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins > ELEX WordPress Embed YouTube Video Gallery > Settings > Create.
The plugin’s configuration options are divided into four key tabs: My Gallery, Create, Settings, and Help & Support. Let’s start with the Create tab. This is where the YouTube gallery can be created, and once it has been created, the shortcode for it will be generated automatically.
Under the create tab, provide a gallery name and gallery category, and in the add source URL field, enter the URL to the YouTube videos, playlists, channel, or handle that you want to display on your website.
Once you have added the video URL(s), you will be able to see a preview of how the gallery will be displayed upon publishing.
On the customize menu on the right, you have the option to configure and customize the layout and functionality of the individual galleries.
The source list displays all videos, playlists, channels, and handles that have been added to the gallery, from which you can remove them if necessary.
You can also choose to wrap videos in container and switch between the light and dark modes. The desktop layout settings enable you to show or hide the gallery header, set the number of columns and rows you would like to display on the gallery, and set the pagination style according to your preference.
A subscribe button and an intro video can also be added to the gallery to increase channel subscribers and website engagement.
After the videos and playlists are added, and the settings are configured, click Save. This brings us to the end of the individual gallery settings. Your video gallery has now been created. Next, let’s move on to the global settings.
Under the settings tab, first come configuration settings. Here, you can enter your YouTube API key and set an auto-sync schedule if needed if you want to keep your YouTube playlist updated at all times.
In the video player settings, you can set the global settings for your video gallery. You can choose to show the video title, set the play mode between pop-up and in-line, overlay color, and overlay blur.
Here you also have the option to customize the play button, including the button type, shape, background color, icon color, and hover animation.
Next, under gallery settings, you can set global settings for the gallery layout. This includes the option to show the header, give shadow to each video, choose shadow color, choose to show shadow color, and wrap videos in container. You can also set the color mode, gallery layout, and pagination type.
Finally, let’s move on to the shortcodes for the generated galleries. Under the My gallery tab, you will find the complete list of generated galleries along with the number of videos in them, categories, shortcodes, and duplicate and delete actions.
This is how you create shortcodes to include YouTube videos and playlists on your WordPress site. The entire process of creating a gallery and the shortcode takes just a few minutes.
To Wrap Up
Adding YouTube videos and playlists to your WordPress site can be a great way to enhance your content and engage your audience. Shortcodes provide an easy and efficient way to embed videos and playlists without needing to write any complex code.
By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily generate shortcodes for YouTube videos and playlists and add them to your WordPress site.
If you have any questions regarding the process of generating shortcodes, please let us know in the comments section below.
