Are you trying to find the top WordPress YouTube plugins to integrate feeds, galleries, or videos on your website?
While WordPress makes it simple to include individual videos in your content, more complicated embeds like video galleries, feeds, lightbox popups, etc. are not supported natively by the platform.
You may correct all of these issues and produce more intricate embed kinds by using YouTube plugins.
I’ll outline the top 5 WordPress YouTube plugins in this article so you may have more control over uploading YouTube material and enhance the functionality of your videos.
Do You Need a WordPress YouTube Plugin First?
Before I discuss the plugins, I want to reaffirm that you can simply embed individual YouTube videos in your website without using a plugin. You only need to add the URL to use WordPress’ built-in support for YouTube embeds.
You can use a YouTube block and paste the video’s URL if you’re using the WordPress block editor:
Embed Youtube videos in WordPress
Additionally, WordPress will create the embed for you if you continue to use the Classic TinyMCE editor and simply put the URL into the Visual tab of the editor.
Top 5 WordPress YouTube Plugins
Now, let’s get into the best plugins…
1. Embed Plus for YouTube
The most widely used YouTube plugin on WordPress.org, Embed Plus for YouTube, is live on more than 200,000 websites.
Almost every sort of YouTube material is available for embedding on WordPress sites, including:
- Videos
- Playlists
- Galleries
- Live feeds
You have a tonne of choices to manage behaviour, regardless of the sort of video you’re embedding. You can manage many different things, such as sound and autoplay.
Additionally, it has a few truly original time-saving features. As an illustration, you may type in the URL of any channel, and the plugin will automatically look for and show a link to a current live stream. This would enable you to make a single live stream page for your website where the most recent live stream would always be available.
2. Feeds for YouTube
If you have your own YouTube channel and want to use WordPress to show an automated feed of your most recent videos, Feeds for YouTube is an useful solution. Of course, you may also utilise it with other people’s channels. The main benefit is that it was designed to provide a stream of the most recent videos from a channel rather than static galleries.
List, gallery, and grid layouts are just a few of the possibilities available. The endless “load more” button allows users to load an infinite number of movies without refreshing the website.
Additionally, you may use numerous streams at various locations. To integrate many feed sources into one feed, however, you’ll need the premium version. In other words, you can establish numerous feeds in the free edition, but each feed can only have one source.
3. WP Video Popup
As the name implies, WP Video Popup enables you to use the well-liked technique of creating a lightbox popup for YouTube embeds, which you have certainly seen on other websites. Visit the plugin website and click to start the video to see it in action.
This impact accomplishes two key goals:
- Because it generates a bigger, less-distracting interface for visitors to watch videos, it is more user-friendly.
- Because you can use a static picture thumbnail everywhere else and just load the full video player in the lightbox popup, it is more performance-friendly.
All you have to do to use the plugin is add a shortcode with the URL of your video. Or, you might use CSS or another method to start it.
The free version only allows you to add one video popup; the premium version allows you to add numerous video popups on the same page and build video galleries inside the popup.
4. WP YouTube Lyte
WP YouTube Lyte is a wonderful alternative if you’re concerned about website performance even if it doesn’t have as many functionalities as some of the other plugins. Another helpful speed optimization plugin, it is created by the same person as the well-known Autoptimize plugin.
It essentially replaces the standard “heavy” YouTube embed with a static thumbnail picture, making the standard WordPress YouTube embed functionality a lot more performance-friendly. When a visitor clicks on the thumbnail picture to start the movie, the plugin won’t load till then.
Without degrading the user experience, this provides significant performance benefits.
This plugin allows you to embed playlists and videos via a shortcode in addition to automatically replacing the standard YouTube embed functionality.
In general, this is a decent option if you value website performance and require something straightforward. You’ll need a separate plugin, though, if you want to make themed galleries or video streams.
5. Elfsight WordPress YouTube Gallery
A wonderful choice for making eye-catching galleries of YouTube videos in a variety of styles is the paid plugin Elfsight YouTube Gallery. The special feature of this plugin is its contemporary, expert gallery layouts, which look fantastic out of the box.
You have a variety of options for the source of your gallery, including a channel, playlist, or certain videos.
Over 100 changeable factors are among the many possible configurations available to you. Additionally, it features an integrated AdSense interface so you can earn money from your video galleries using AdSense.
Overall, if you want to make YouTube video galleries, this is one of your finest alternatives.
Elfsight YouTube Gallery is available for $49, and lifetime upgrades are included.
Start integrating YouTube now
You may start integrating YouTube material in WordPress in more creative ways by using these plugins for YouTube.
Which plugin suits you the best? That depends on what you want to achieve, obviously. Consider using plugins like Elfsight YouTube Gallery, Essential Grid Gallery, or YotuWP if you want a fashionable gallery.
On the other hand, Feeds for YouTube can be what you need if you want to embed a stream of videos. Or perhaps Embed Plus for YouTube for live streaming and other choices, while WP Video Popup works well for lightbox popups.
Remember performance as well; employing a lot of YouTube videos might cause your site to load slowly. Consider utilising the free Lazy Load plugin if the plugin you’ve chosen lacks built-in speed capabilities.