Update: JW7 is now available. Check it out here.
The amount of video content on the Internet has exploded over the last few years. This is due in large part to products like the JW Player and services like YouTube and Vimeo. More and more users have come to expect the sites they visit to contain video content. As a result many bloggers are seeing the value in having video content on their site. Not only does it make their site more engaging for their users, it can also be a source of revenue for them through the use of video advertising.
If you are a WordPress user you do not have to be left out. It is extremely easy for you to include video on your site and even monetize it with some advertising. In this post we’ll be looking at how to post video on your WordPress blog using the JW Player and the JW Player Plugin for WordPress.
WordPress as a Video Platform
WordPress currently powers the vast majority of blogs on the Internet and for good reason. It’s lightweight, easy to use and very flexible. It is this flexibility that makes it excellent as a tool for managing video content.
WordPress has a built in media manager allowing you to easily upload your video content and manage video meta data. In addition, WordPress treats your videos like any other page or post so it’s very easy to tag and categorize them. When writing a new post, your library is easily accessible via a convenient overlay.
Unfortunately, out of the box, WordPress has a severe limitation when it comes to video. Unless you know how to write embed code, WordPress doesn’t actually handle embedding video content in your posts. Instead of rendering a video player it simply inserts a link to the video file. This is far from the engaging experience most people are looking for and is where the JW Player Plugin for WordPress comes in.
What Does the WordPress Plugin Offer?
In a nutshell, the WordPress plugin allows you to use the JW Player to present your video content to users. It allows you to take advantage of the JW Player’s major features including HTML5 support, skins, plugins and the AdSolution without writing a single line of code. It also substantially expands WordPress’ built in Media Manager. Some highlights include the following:
- Player embedding and management: Customize multiple JW Player’s all within your WordPress site and embed them without writing any code.
- Playlist management: Create and manage playlists using the videos already in your library.
- Plugins: Take advantage of the JW Player’s many plugins including social plugins like Tweet It and Facebook It or playlist plugins like Flow.
- Advertising: Run the LongTail Video AdSolution to monetize your content. It’s a great way to pay for your hosting costs and to make some extra money.
For additional information about these features please refer to our JW Player Plugin for WordPress documentation.
WordPress Video Examples
Now that we’ve gone over some of the highlights we’ll go through some examples of the plugin in action. Here are the most common ways in which bloggers use the WordPress plugin. Keep in mind that all of these examples were done using just the features of the JW Player Plugin for WordPress. You don’t need to write any code to reproduce them on your own site.
A Post With a Single Video
Here you see a JW Player with a single video directly in the body of a WordPress post.
A Post With a Playlist
Much like a single video, a playlist appears directly in the post body. Note the additional controls for users to select each video in the playlist.
A Post with Sharing
Here we’ve posted a JW Player with a single video. This player is using the Facebook It and Tweet It plugin. Users can click the appropriate icon and share the post on Facebook or Twitter.
Conclusion
Getting started with the JW Player Plugin is easy. It’s accessible via your WordPress dashboard just like any other plugin. Search for “JW Player.” and it will be the first result. Or if you would like to download it directly you can visit the WordPress Plugin Directory.
For additional information about the JW Player Plugin for WordPress you can refer to the following documents:
- Embed the JW Player Using The WordPress Plugin
- JW Player Plugin for WordPress Media Management