Welcome to Plugged In, where we take a look at some of the most popular WordPress plugins in various categories. This week, we look into the best plugins for monetizing your WordPress site. (For more information on WordPress plugins, download our ultimate guide.)
Images are a great way to supplement your content, but videos can be even more dynamic. An engaging video can not only pull in more viewers but keep them on your site. That said, the native media hub in WordPress may not format your videos the way you want. That’s where plugins come in.
We have compiled a few of the most popular from the WordPress Plugin Repository. With these, you will be able to display your own videos or pull them in from somewhere else.
YouTube Embed Plugin
One of the easiest ways to upload and view videos online is through YouTube. Once you upload your content, use the YouTube Embed Plugin to put it into your site. The plugin allows you to add an entire YouTube playlist right onto your site, or opt for a video gallery. You can choose to enable automatic play or let users scroll through the playlist. YouTube Embed creates custom thumbnails do you don’t have to.
Upon downloading the plugin, you’ll get a special button for YouTube right next to Add Media. That makes it incredibly easy to pull in any videos you want. If the channel is your own, add a Subscribe button below the video gallery and boost your numbers.
Video Thumbnails
Making video thumbnails can be a pain. They need to be clickable but also informative. Get rid of those awkward screenshots of someone’s face with the Video Thumbnails plugin. The plugin works with YouTube, Twitch, Vine, Vimeo, and more to create the perfect thumbnail. Once the image is created, you can save it to your media library and even set it as your featured image. This is a great option for anyone solely posting a video.
Video Thumbnails has over 100,000 active downloads and is actively updated. It’s a great way to remove the stressful thumbnail creation process.
WP Video Lightbox
WP Video Lightbox allows you to display videos in a different way. When a user starts to play a video, it will pop out and make the screen behind the player dark. This makes it easier to view the video without the distractions of the post and ads behind it. The plugin works with YouTube or Vimeo and it’s a very easy embed process. Some sites begin playing the video in the form it appears on the site, which makes it hard to properly view. WP Video Lightbox puts special attention on it.
If you don’t have a lot of video content, the plugin can also be used to create a lightbox for photographs and other images. A great idea for infographics or diagrams.
What are your favorite video plugins? Let us know by leaving a comment below. And check out our list of the 10 most popular plugins our customers use on our platform.
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