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How to Optimize YouTube Videos Embedded in WordPress Website?
Did you know that videos on landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%?
Embedding YouTube videos in your WordPress website can significantly enhance user engagement and provide valuable content to your visitors. However, embedding videos directly can negatively impact your website’s performance, leading to slower load times and a suboptimal user experience.
The ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin for WordPress offers a seamless solution to this problem by optimizing how YouTube videos are embedded, ensuring your website remains fast and responsive. In this comprehensive documentation, we will explore the features and benefits of the ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin, provide detailed installation and usage instructions, and offer advanced tips for maximizing the performance of your embedded YouTube videos.
Why Optimize YouTube Videos?
Video content is a powerful tool for engaging your audience, conveying complex information quickly, and boosting your site’s SEO. According to recent studies, including a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 80%, and 87% of online marketers use video content.
Despite the benefits, embedding YouTube videos directly into your website can slow down page load times. This is because the YouTube player and associated scripts load every time the page is accessed, increasing the amount of data that needs to be transferred and processed. Page load time is a critical factor for user experience and SEO, as slower websites tend to rank lower in search engine results and have higher bounce rates.
Optimizing embedded YouTube videos ensures:
- Faster page load times
- Improved user experience
- Higher engagement rates
- Better SEO performance
How to Optimize YouTube Videos?
The ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin for WordPress addresses these issues by delaying the loading of YouTube videos until the user interacts with them. Instead of loading the YouTube player immediately, the plugin displays a banner image with a play button. The video only loads when the user clicks the play button, significantly improving page load times and overall performance.
Highlighted Features
- Lazy Load for YouTube Videos
The plugin uses a lazy load technique to delay the loading of the YouTube player until the user clicks the play button. This reduces the initial page load time and enhances the user experience. - Customizable Shortcodes
ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin provides customizable shortcodes that allow you to embed YouTube videos with custom banners, alternate text, and specific dimensions. - SEO-Friendly
The plugin ensures that embedded videos are SEO-friendly by allowing you to add alternate text to the banners, improving accessibility and search engine visibility. - User-Friendly Interface
With an intuitive and user-friendly interface, the plugin makes it easy for WordPress users of all skill levels to optimize their embedded YouTube videos.
Steps to Install the Plugin
- Download the ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin for WordPress.
- Log in as the WordPress Admin of your online store.
- Navigate to Plugins > Add New to upload the downloaded ZIP file of the plugin.
- Activate the plugin.
- Configuring the Plugin
After activating the plugin, you can configure it to suit your preferences. Navigate to Settings > ELEX Optimize YouTube Embed` in the WordPress admin menu to access the plugin settings.
Employing the Plugin: Embedding YouTube Videos
Adding the Shortcode
To embed a YouTube video using the ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin, you need to use the provided shortcode. Below is the basic shortcode pattern:
Short-code:
[eh_optimize_youtube_embed video="VIDEO LINK" banner="IMAGE URL" alternate_text="ALTERNATE TEXT" width="560" height="315"]
The above short-code pattern can be customized based on your preferences. See samples below.
Examples of Shortcode Usage
Example 1: Video with YouTube Embed Link and Custom Banner
Shortcode:
[eh_optimize_youtube_embed video="https://youtu.be/KFvveeBVgyk" banner="https://demo02.cydlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/How-To-Use-ELEX-WooCommerce-Bulk-Edit-Plugin-Video-Thumbnail.png"]
Note: Replace the video link and banner URL with your own respective links, when pasting to your website.
In this example, the video will display a custom banner image with a play button. The YouTube video will load only after the user clicks the play button.
The play button with the banner appears as shown in the screenshot below.
Example 2: Video with Default Banner
Shortcode:
[eh_optimize_youtube_embed video="https://youtu.be/KFvveeBVgyk"]
If no custom banner is provided, the plugin will display a default banner with a play button.
The play button with the default banner appears as shown below:
Customizing the Shortcode
The shortcode parameters can be customized based on your preferences:
- Video – The URL of the YouTube video.
- Banner – The URL of the custom banner image.
- Alternate_text – The alternate text for the banner image (important for SEO).
- Width – The width of the video player.
- Height – The height of the video player.
Embedding in WordPress Blog or WooCommerce Product Page
To embed a video in a WordPress blog post or a WooCommerce product page, simply copy and paste the shortcode into the content editor. Make sure to replace the placeholders with your actual video link and banner URL.
Now let’s check the performance of the site with/without the Optimize YouTube Video Embed WordPress plugin.
Performance Analysis
Performance Without the Plugin
Embedding YouTube videos directly in your WordPress website can lead to slower page load times. Here’s a sample analysis of a page with a directly embedded YouTube video:
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/KFvveeBVgyk” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
The sample inline frame for the YouTube video is added as shown below:
The analysis of the website is as shown in the below screenshot.
The page takes longer to load as it has to load the entire YouTube player and associated scripts.
Performance with the Plugin
By using the ELEX Optimize YouTube Videos Embed Plugin, the page load time improves significantly. Here’s a sample analysis of a page using the plugin:
[eh_optimize_youtube_embed video=”https://youtu.be/KFvveeBVgyk” banner=”https://demo02.cydlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/How-To-Use-ELEX-WooCommerce-Bulk-Edit-Plugin-Video-Thumbnail.png”]
The same sample video is added by including the Shortcode Pattern as shown in the screenshot below.
The analysis of the website with the plugin is as shown in the below screenshot.
Optimized Page Load Time
The page loads faster as the YouTube player only loads when the user interacts with the play button.
Interested in creating a YouTube Video Gallery on your WordPress website? Check out the ELEX WordPress Embed YouTube Video Gallery Plugin!
By employing the ELEX WordPress Embed YouTube Video Gallery plugin, you can embed an unlimited number of YouTube galleries, each containing an individual video, a whole channel, or a playlist of YouTube videos.
Explore our blog section for more articles.
You can also check out WordPress and WooCommerce plugins in ELEX.