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

by Michael Martine on July 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:

{ 4 trackbacks }

JJHS Web Page » Blog Archive » Wordpress Basics
January 1, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Use a video service or host your own videos?
January 26, 2009 at 6:55 am
How to Wrap Text Around A Video
March 30, 2009 at 8:35 am
Hey Guys, Watch This! « Ramblerock’s Weblog
April 26, 2009 at 1:45 am

{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Gregg May 14, 2009 at 11:16 pm

Thank you for making this soooooo simple. God bless you. I couldn’t figure this out for the life of me:-)

Reply

2 Chris May 31, 2009 at 6:49 am

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

Reply

3 Michael Martine May 31, 2009 at 1:08 pm

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.

Reply

4 Craig May 31, 2009 at 1:53 pm

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!

Reply

5 Michael Martine May 31, 2009 at 1:59 pm

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.

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6 MArieme June 2, 2009 at 4:33 am

Thank you very much.
you are awesome. I now how to do it. x

Best!

Reply

7 Launi June 17, 2009 at 3:26 pm

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.

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8 Michael Martine June 17, 2009 at 3:43 pm

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).

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