Do you want to add a review video or instruction to your WordPress website?
Today, video is one of the easiest ways to show product reviews, provide instructions, and break straight text on the website. The leader in the placement of such content is YouTube. Millions of users visit this site daily to find the content they need.
Why not add some YouTube videos to your WordPress website? From today’s article, you will find out about the ten most popular WordPress plugins for easy video embeds.
Table of Contents
What Are YouTube WordPress Plugins?
In most basic terms, YouTube WordPress plugins help place videos in the right place on the page. Some plugins also enable automatic playback of videos, set cover art, and create entire playlists. Videos allow you to improve your search engine ranking positions, so their use is very justified.
This article will examine the ten best plugins to add video embeds to your website.
Top 10 YouTube WordPress Plugins
When picking plugins for this selection, I took into account the following parameters:
- user reviews;
- number of active installations;
- available features.
These parameters helped me understand how popular it is among users and how functional a plugin is.
Embed Plus (Freemium)
🏆 Best for lazy loading videos and playlists.
Embed Plus is a plugin that can be customized in many ways to suit your needs. It allows you to embed and customize a video, a YouTube channel, a broadcast, or an entire video gallery. It also provides a delayed loading feature through the use of JavaScript. The user gets to the site and sees a simplified player, and after clicking on the player, the video is fully loaded. It improves the loading speed of the website and its performance.
Key features:
- ability to upload a video, gallery, or live broadcast;
- deferred critical and non-critical JavaScript;
- automatic playback of YouTube gallery;
- simultaneous playback control.
Pricing: it is a freemium plugin, so there is a free and a PRO version that costs $69.99 per year.
Pros:
- easy to manage and insert videos;
- ability to customize video gallery playback;
- volume control for auto playback;
- built-in Facade Mode.
Cons:
- poor customer support;
- some users have problems with the configuration screen.
Feeds for YouTube (Freemium)
🏆 Best for creating customizable YouTube channel feeds.
This plugin is perfect for those who want to display videos from YouTube channels on their website automatically. You can customize the gallery and display videos the way you want. All the videos you post will be optimized for your website’s design and different devices.
Key features:
- video optimization for different devices;
- content caching for instant site loading;
- different layouts and styles of video display;
- one can upload an unlimited number of videos to the site.
Pricing: there is a free and paid version starting at $98 per year.
Pros:
- ability to translate plugin content into any language;
- no limit for video uploads to the site;
- ability to show live broadcasts using YouTube Live API.
Cons:
- very limited functionality of the free version;
- content should be on a public YouTube channel to show it.
JetElements (Premium)
🏆 Best for adding and configuring YouTube videos without coding and scripts.
JetElements is a plugin that allows you to add different dynamic content to your website, including videos from YouTube. Since the plugin is visual, you don’t need any coding skills. Just placing the YouTube Player widget in the right place is enough.
Key features:
- you can set the appearance of the player;
- set the start and end time of video content display;
- you can set auto playback or looping;
- select the proportions of the shown video;
- choose where the list of suggested videos will be automatically taken from;
- easily customize the video thumbnail.
Pricing: from $43 per year for one project.
Pros:
- ability to customize player and player style;
- choosing your picture for the thumbnail, color, and lightbox settings;
- customization of suggested videos;
- possibility to use privacy mode and prevent the video service from collecting your visitor’s data;
- availability of widgets for any occasion with various settings;
- simple customization of the player’s appearance.
Cons:
- no free version;
- it works only with Elementor.
Video Gallery (Freemium)
🏆 Best for displaying the WordPress video gallery in different pre-made designs.
The Video Gallery plugin is a simple and convenient solution for all those who want to add a video gallery to their website but don’t want to design it for a long time. The plugin allows you to place the video in the right place on the site, and it will automatically adjust to any screen size. The plugin supports videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia.
Key features:
- it has 16 free video gallery themes;
- you can choose a hover effect;
- nine pre-made gallery layouts;
- ready video lightbox effect.
Pricing: it has a free version and PRO. The lowest package price is $15.
Pros:
- 100+ hover and animation effects features;
- various themes specially designed for WordPress websites;
- you can add titles, links, and icons to embedded videos.
Cons:
- slows down the website.
SimpLy Gallery Blocks (Freemium)
🏆 Best for creating responsive image, video, and audio galleries.
SimpLy Gallery Blocks is a popular plugin for video embeds, boasting 30K installations and a 4.9/5 rating. You can use it to create dynamic audio, image, and video galleries pulling videos from YouTube or Vimeo. It allows you to add videos from video hosting sites or upload directly to your website, select a thumbnail image, and more.
Key features:
- poster generator for a self-hosted video;
- adaptive design;
- browser features control;
- ability to create dynamic video galleries for WordPress websites.
Pricing: there is a free version. The paid one starts at $24.99.
Pros:
- supports photo, mp4 video format, YouTube, Vimeo, and audio;
- drag and drop gallery building;
- highly responsive.
Cons:
- it’s tricky for newbies;
- slows down the website.
YouTube Playlist Player (Free)
🏆 Best for inserting static or dynamic YouTube playlists using a shortcode.
If you prefer shortcodes and don’t want to use blocks or write code, this plugin is optimal for you. A simple shortcode lets you insert a video player anywhere on the page. The player is responsive and displays correctly on different devices.
Key features:
- shortcode video embedding;
- uses the standard YouTube embed code (iFrame);
- native HTML deferred loading.
Pricing: free.
Pros:
- it uses the correct aspect ratio for video using Fluid Video technology;
- the plugin allows you to customize the YouTube playback channel bar;
- it is completely free.
Cons:
- inflexible;
- not as convenient as drag-and-drop plugins.
YouTube Embed (Free)
🏆 Best for automatically generating and creating custom playlists.
The YouTube Embed plugin allows you to create your own playlists, set the order in which videos are shown, and generate metadata for SEO. You can use it to solve several tasks: offering users interesting, helpful content and boosting your site’s ranking in search results.
Key features:
- automatic and manual creation of playlists;
- optimize metadata using data provided by YouTube API;
- support for the Do Not Track function.
Pricing: free.
Pros:
- the ability to set automatic parameters for displaying video on the site;
- video insertion using a shortcode anywhere on the site;
- ability to create playlists by username;
- capability for users to upload videos from the site;
- ability to set the necessary template for YouTube output.
Cons:
- supports only the ability to insert the standard YouTube embed and playlist players;
- using shortcodes is not very convenient.
EmbedPress (Freemium)
🏆 Best for embedding engaging and interactive multimedia content.
EmbedPress is a plugin that supports embeds from 150+ resources and allows you to publish any media files, from images and videos to maps and documents.
You can choose how to post the files – using drag-and-drop blocks or shortcodes. Once you insert a link to a suitable video, the plugin will recognize it and make an adaptive block at the right place.
Key features:
- publishing multimedia using blocks or shortcodes;
- ability to customize YouTube videos and add a logo or call to action;
- adding a button to subscribe to your channel from the site;
- customizable autoplay, subtitles, etc.
Pricing: there is a free version and a PRO version that costs $49.
Pros:
- iFrame customization;
- possibility to create a customized player by modifying color, adding a tooltip, enabling source link, etc.;
- lazy load feature to speed up page loading.
Cons:
- only works via Block Editor.
Simple YouTube Embed (Free)
🏆 Best for adding videos without additional JavaScript code.
Simple YouTube Embed plugin allows you to use standard WordPress features to add videos from YouTube and extend the player’s capabilities.
It uses the oEmbed API, so videos on the site will be adaptive and correctly displayed on any device. After turning off the plugin, videos will continue to work as usual.
Key features:
- does not replace video insertion code on the page with JavaScript or HTML code;
- you don’t need to customize video settings to use it;
- inserted using a shortcode;
- videos are adaptive and available even after turning off the plugin.
Pricing: free.
Pros:
- YouTube API key is not required;
- embed YouTube videos in WordPress with the YouTube block;
- automatic video playback;
- easy to control video playback.
Cons:
- some users have problems setting up parameters (autoplay, mute, rel, playlist, loop, etc.).
WP Video Popup (Freemium)
🏆 Best for adding minimalistic video lightbox pop-ups to WordPress sites.
The final plugin in this selection is WP Video Popup. Loved by over 20 thousand WordPress users, it lets you add a responsive YouTube or Vimeo lightbox pop-up to any page, post, or custom post type. Videos are added using a shortcode.
Key features:
- adaptive lightbox for placing the video anywhere on the site;
- does not slow down site loading, as the video starts loading only after clicking the play button;
- easy video adding via shortcodes.
Pricing: there’s a free version. The PRO version costs $99 per year.
Pros:
- ability to add an adaptive lightbox in a few clicks;
- you can set up a video gallery or several pop-up windows on the site;
- video placement does not slow down page loading.
Cons:
- only a few features are available in the free version;
- the PRO version is expensive.
FAQ
Yes, video is great for SEO. Because people stay on a particular webpage longer, get all the answers they need, and the site rises higher in the rankings.
No. Many plugins have a Lazy Loading option and only load the full video after clicking the preview or button.
Yes, you can do it with code. However, styling the video output section is easier with a plugin.
Wrapping Up
YouTube videos are a great way to make your website and content more engaging and interactive. They help users stay on the site longer and absorb information visually.
You can use different ways to add videos to your site, including simple coding. But plugins would make the job a whole lot easier. With their help, you can customize the settings and design the video output you want.
Let me briefly remind you what plugins I have reviewed in this selection:
- Embed Plus is best for lazy loading videos and playlists.
- Feeds for YouTube is incredible for creating customizable YouTube channel feeds.
- JetElements is perfect for adding and configuring YouTube videos without coding and scripts.
- Video Gallery is great for displaying the video gallery in different pre-made designs.
- Simply Gallery Blocks is good for creating responsive image, video, and audio galleries.
- YouTube Playlist Player is suitable for inserting static or dynamic YouTube playlists using a shortcode.
- YouTube Embed can help you autogenerate and create custom playlists.
- EmbedPress is best for embedding engaging and interactive multimedia content.
- Simple YouTube Embed is excellent for adding videos without additional JavaScript code.
- WP Video Popup is perfect for adding minimalistic video lightbox pop-ups to WordPress sites.
Choose the perfect one for your task and use it to embed unique video content. ✨
