How to Embed a YouTube Video Into Your WordPress Blog

Enrich your WordPress blog with embedded YouTube videos

By
Jason Bennett
Jay Bennett
Jason Bennett
Writer
  • George Brown College
Jay Bennett is a former Lifewire writer and digital marketing consultant with 8 years' experience. His writing has appeared on the VisiHow website.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on March 11, 2021

Embedding YouTube videos in your WordPress blog is an excellent way to keep your visitors engaged and interested. Whether you wish to embed your video content or someone else's, WordPress makes the process straightforward and hassle-free.

This article applies to both self-hosted (wordpress.org) and free-hosted (wordpress.com) blogs.

How to Embed a YouTube Video in WordPress

You can copy and paste the video URL into the WordPress editor. No additional code is necessary.

  1. From the WordPress Dashboard, select Posts > Add new.

    Add New in the WordPress dashboard

  2. Select the + icon to add a new block, then select YouTube.

    Plus and YouTube on the WordPress dashboard

  3. Go to the YouTube video you want to embed, select Share, then select Copy.

    Share and Copy on the WordPress dashboard

  4. Go back to your WordPress post, paste the video URL, then select Embed.

    Embed on the WordPress dashboard

    You can also paste the YouTube URL into the content editor in both visual and text view.

  5. Select Publish to make your video go live.

    Publish on the WordPress dashboard

How to Embed a YouTube Video in the Sidebar

If you prefer to place a YouTube video in your blog's sidebar, use the video widget.

  1. From the WordPress Dashboard, select Appearance > Widgets.

    Widgets on the WordPress dashboard

  2. Drag the Video widget to the blog sidebar.

    Video on the WordPress dashboard

  3. Give the video a title, then select Add Video.

    Add Video on the WordPress dashboard

  4. Select Insert from URL in the upper-left corner.

    Insert from URL on the WordPress dashboard

  5. Enter the video URL, then select Add to Widget after the video appears.

    Add to Widget on the WordPress dashboard

  6. Select Save.

    Save on the WordPress dashboard

How to Embed a YouTube Video With the Iframe Element

YouTube offers a wide variety of player parameters to customize the playback experience. Embedding videos with iframes allows you to customize how the video player looks and functions with options like autoplay, language preference, video width and height, looping, playlist, and more.

  1. From the WordPress content editor, select HTML.

    HTML on the WordPress dashboard

  2. Go to the YouTube video you wish to embed, select Share, then select Embed.

    Embed and Share on the WordPress dashboard

  3. Select Copy.

    Copy on the WordPress dashboard

  4. Paste the iframe code into the HTML box in WordPress, then select Preview.

    Preview on the WordPress dashboard

  5. Select Update if the video looks right.

    Update on the WordPress dashboard

    Experiment with different Player Parameters within the iframe code for full customization. Add each parameter after the source (src) URL.

How to Embed YouTube Videos With WordPress Plugins

Using a plugin is another reliable method for embedding YouTube videos. Some plugins give you a range of additional features to customize how the video appears on the page.

  1. From the WordPress Dashboard, select Plugins > Add New.

    Add New on the WordPress dashboard

  2. Enter youtube embed into the plugin search box, choose a plugin, then select Install Now.

    YouTube embed and Install Now

  3. Select Activate after the plugin installs.

    Activate on the WordPress dashboard
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